


Outlaws (and Toons) From the West

by 80sneoncowboy



Series: Animaniacs/RDR2 Crossover [1]
Category: Animaniacs, Red Dead Redemption 2
Genre: also yeah there's ocs in here, and the warners are a couple years older, except wakko and dot totally both have knives, fuck if im adding every single rdr2 character, im more fixated on the warners anyways lol, its my story i do what i want, the only reason why they're older is bc idk how to feel abt 14 y/o yakko with a gun, will other animaniacs characters appear? idk!, yakko is 18 wakko is 15 and dot is 11
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:27:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28085421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/80sneoncowboy/pseuds/80sneoncowboy
Summary: inserting the warner siblings into the rdr2 universe because it'll be fun, and cowboy warners sounds like it'd be a good timethis fic follows the rdr2 storyline with some antics scattered about here and therethere are rdr2 spoilers, so read with cautionwill there be angst? yes. lots of it.
Series: Animaniacs/RDR2 Crossover [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2057547
Comments: 12
Kudos: 19





	1. Colter

The ferry job in Blackwater was a bust. One of the worst ones yet, if Yakko had his bearings right. He couldn’t really even remember all that had happened, it felt like a blur, and it hadn’t even been that long since it happened. All he remembered was that Mac, Davey, Jenny, and Sean, were dead. Sean maybe. Davey- well, he was dying. Yakko wasn’t stupid. And this weather wasn’t helping the poor man’s condition at all either. Was it a setup? From what little he heard, there were government agents on the gang in seconds it seemed. The whole situation was bad.

Yakko shivered, trying to adjust himself, trying to get comfortable. Dot and Wakko both cuddled close to their older brother, shivering just as bad as him. The gang had been forced to flee into the mountains, running into a raging snowstorm, one that could very well freeze their fingers off if they weren’t careful. 

“How much longer are we gonna be out here for?” Wakko’s voice is quiet, nearly silenced to the wind blowing from outside the wagon. Yakko wishes he had an answer to give to his sib, he could barely even see out the back of the wagon, besides the light from one of the lanterns. 

“We’ll get somewhere safe soon, don’t worry.” Yakko at least hopes he’s right about that. They’re quiet for a moment more, listening to the harsh winds, and the horses walking through the snow. And then, voices. What Yakko assumes to be voices at least. He can just barely make out Dutch’s voice, maybe Hosea’s too. Arthur? He felt himself perk up, hearing the outlaw’s voice, or what he thought was Arthur’s voice. All he could make out were some words here and there, but, he was definitely sure he had heard something about shelter.

Moments later, the caravan came to a stop. Everyone’s getting out of the wagons, and Yakko can only assume that they’ve made it to some shelter. Getting out of the wagon, he can make out the shapes of some buildings, and without getting a second more to look around, he and his siblings are ushered into one of the cabins by Arthur. The snow latches onto the fur of the Warners’ paws, and Dot whines, holding tightly onto Yakkko’s hand as they make their way into the shelter. Everyone’s inside after a moment, the light from Dutch’s lantern illuminating the old cabin. From what Yakko could make out, it wasn’t anything special, though there was a fireplace on one side, maybe some old kindling inside, he couldn’t really make anything out. Other than hearing Abigail say that Davey was officially dead; which made the whole room go deathly silent. Wakko whimpered, shrinking behind his brother as he heard the news. Was Yakko surprised about the man dying? With how he was wounded, he would’ve been surprised if Davey survived. But, no, he’s dead. Stone cold dead. Yakko tensed at the thought, hugging his siblings a little closer. Wakko and Dot just hid their faces in the cloth of their brother’s coat.

Dutch had gone off on a small tangent, something that Yakko hadn’t really paid much attention to. Something about having faith in him. Like all his other tangents, faith, and loyalty. Over the four years he and his sibs had been with the gang, Yakko had gotten used to it. And before they knew it, Dutch was instructing Miss Grimshaw and Mr Pearson to get this place turned into a camp, and to make sure everyone was warm. And then, he and Arthur left, to go scouting. In that weather? Wouldn’t they want to rest? Yakko was better off not questioning what those two did. No place for it now. Especially not when Grimshaw insists he help her start a fire. No shortage of work, even in this kind of a storm, nevermind the state of everyone.

An hour or so later, maybe longer, there’s a commotion outside. Which just sounds like Arthur, Dutch, and unfortunately Micah, coming back. Yakko didn’t get up to investigate, his fur bristling at the vague sound of Micah’s voice. There was something about that man, something that had always rubbed him the wrong way. Perhaps it was just his abhorrent nature, or the fact that Micah was just plain ugly. Or it was the way he talked. All three, perhaps. Most of the people that had been in the cabin decided to investigate, all but the Warners, who stayed put by the fire. Yakko can hear mention of the o’Driscolls, Dutch even mentioning something about how those fools were planning to hit a train. Hosea says something, but Yakko can’t pick up on it. More and more talking, mostly Dutch. 

A moment passes, Tilly and Karen walking a stranger into the cabin. A woman, one who looked scared out of her mind. A fur blanket draped over her shoulders, tear stains down her face. “They made a widow out of her,” Yakko can hear Dutch say from outside. His sibs don’t seem to hear, let alone really notice, they’re both too busy with being curled up by the fire, on either side of their big brother. Tilly and Karen get this strange woman by the fire, letting her sit down, telling her that she’ll be okay. The woman stays silent, nodding her head slowly. Yakko felt a stab of pity for her, widowed by o’Driscolls. A shame. Didn’t those bastards have anything better to do other than make people suffer? _Don’t we do the same?_ Yakko grunts, shaking that thought from his head. _We don’t terrorize innocent people. We just steal from people who have plenty to share._ Right? Right. 

“You doin’ alright kid?” Yakko had barely noticed Arthur walking towards him, ruffling the fur on his head. How he hadn’t realized Arthur heading over in the first place was unlike him, but the kid went through a decent bit of shit the past several days.

“I’m freezing,” Yakko replies after a second, wishing the fire was warmer, or bigger even. Maybe then he wouldn’t be as cold. Or maybe he just needed better, warmer clothes.

“Aside from that I mean,” Arthur decides to sit next to Yakko, on the side where Wakko was, who was now asleep, leaning on his big brother. Dot’s doing the same, on the opposite side.

“How’re you feelin’?” 

That made him think for a brief moment. That was a good question.

“... Honestly a little scared. And hungry,” Yakko mumbles, only now realizing that yeah, he was pretty hungry. All he really had to eat was some bread chunks and maybe a bit of some canned food. They didn’t have all that much in the ways of food.

“We’ll be alright, don’t you worry,” Arthur pats Yakko’s shoulder gently, offering him some reassurance. And then he reaches into his satchel, pulling out a can of food. Canned peaches. “Here, it ain’t much but I snagged it from that homestead. You need it more than I do.” Yakko takes the can from the outlaw, admittedly feeling the tiniest bit better. 

“Share it with your siblings too.”  
“I will.”

Arthur smiles a tad, patting Yakko’s shoulder again before standing up.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, eat and get some rest.”

“You too old man.”

“Ah shut up.” Yakko snorts as Arthur says that, watching the older outlaw head out of the cabin, presumably to the building where Miss Grimshaw moved him too. He remembered maybe hearing her mumble something about that earlier. No time for that. Yakko nudges his siblings awake, and offers them some of the peaches. Of course they take the food happily, if not tiredly, and what they don’t eat, Yakko eats. His sibs come first, as always, which has always been a habit of his. Though, once he and his sibs are done eating, Yakko finds it hard to drift back to sleep. Too much had happened, too many things clouding his mind. Hopefully that would blow over, maybe. He’d sigh, and focus on just keeping an eye on his sibs. Maybe he’d just pass out during the night. That’s what he hoped.


	2. Colter 2, electric boogaloo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> two chapters in one day wow  
> note, updates will come as soon as possible! as i write this im going to be finishing up and fleshing out chapter 3  
> anyways we're getting to the good stuff soon

The next day eventually rolls around, agonizingly slow in Yakko’s opinion. He’d barely gotten sleep from the night before, mostly from having too many thoughts racing back and forth in his head, and the wind howling from outside. Not to mention the cabin creaked and made odd noises all night, and he had to listen to several gang members snoring; which wasn’t ideal. Whatever. This would all be over soon. Yakko huffs, glancing at his siblings. Both awake by now, Wakko still curled up next to his big brother, his head turned to face one of the windows in the cabin to watch the snow fall. Dot was in the same boat, though she had her face hidden in Yakko’s coat. She was still shaken up, for good reason. Yakko doubted any of them would really be okay after this. Well, maybe, he didn’t know. He’d have to wait and see.

Moments passed, Pearson had come by to try and give everyone some provisions, of course they’d have to ration their food out, given how low their supplies were getting. Someone would have to go out hunting, and Yakko would be more than happy to do that. It had only been a day, but he didn’t want to stay cooped up in this cabin for much longer. He did hear that Pearson sent Bill and Lenny out hunting, perhaps he was just waiting on them to return. Would those two even find anything? They weren’t the best of hunters, but desperate times call for desperate measures. 

Yakko ends up getting up after a while, needing to stretch his legs for a moment, he can’t stand sitting still like that forever. Dot and Wakko complain when their brother gets up, as they had been nice and warm by his side. So, the two of them just cuddle up next to each other, Wakko stretching while he’s still seated. There’s some small talk, from the other gang members while the Warners preoccupy themselves with stretching so they don’t get too stiff.

“He ain’t been seen in days, this weather ain’t let up… He’s strong, and he’s smart. Well, strong, at least.” Yakko picks up on Abigail talking, presumably to Tilly, who was sitting next to her. Arthur had walked into the cabin while Abigail had been talking, waving to the Warners as he passed. Before Yakko knew it, Abigail was asking Arthur to go looking for John. Oh, right, John. With everything that had happened it nearly slipped Yakko’s mind that he hadn’t seen John in a while. Not since Dutch told him to scout ahead while they were still in the caravan.

“You’re John’ll be fine. I mean, he may be as dumb as rocks and as dull as rusted iron, but that ain’t changin’ because he got caught in some snowstorm.”

“At least go take a look,” Hosea speaks up now, a hint of annoyance in his voice. He then calls for Javier, asking the two of them to ride out, and go looking for John. Now it’s Arthur’s turn to look annoyed. 

“You’re the two best fit men we’ve got,” Hosea continues, and Yakko notices Arthur roll his eyes in frustration.

“ _Now_?”

“She’s- we’re all-” Hosea sighs, his voice trailing off for a moment.

“We’re all pretty worried about him.”

“I know if the situation were reversed and… he’d look for me,” Javier readies himself heading over to Arthur, motioning the other outlaw to follow him. And he’s headed out the door, Arthur following. Abigail thanks them as they leave, Arthur just scoffs. And the cabin is quiet again.

“Real moody he is today huh?” Yakko glances to Hosea, who chuckles in response.

“Arthur’s always moody, it’s the only thing he knows.” That was partially true at least. Yakko knew Arthur was a bit sour, but he was still nice when he wanted to be. He sighs, and sits back down with his sibs, and they instantly cuddle back up to him.

“Do you think they’re gonna find John?” Wakko decides to speak up now, his voice is weak though, and that worries Yakko in the slightest. Then again, if Wakko had a cold, he wouldn’t exactly be too shocked. With this weather, it was a wonder how the whole gang was sniffling and shivering. Well, they were shivering sure, but that’s not the point.

“They’ll find him, don’t worry sib,” Yakko reassures his little brother, patting his shoulder gently as an added bonus.

“What if he got frozen?” Dot’s turn to speak, and she looks ever so slightly frazzled. 

“He’s not frozen, he probably found another place to stay for the time being.”

“Then what if he gets lost?” The worry in her voice increases.

“Dot, he’s gonna be fine.” Yakko hoped John was fine. The gang couldn’t afford another loss, especially John. Abigail would be heartbroken. And Jack would too, probably. And the rest of the gang. Arthur, maybe not. Yakko knew Arthur was still angry at John for leaving a while back, for a whole year. Yakko didn’t really remember it that well, but he knows he’s heard Arthur complain about it once or twice. Whatever. He shook the thought from his head, glancing down to his sibs, just checking up on them. Dot seemed to be fine, her shivering minimum, but-

Wakko is shivering still, despite being curled up by the fire with a blanket or two on him, plus a warm coat. Yakko could only assume his little brother caught a cold. This wouldn’t kill him of course, but it certainly was debilitating. They had medicine though, Yakko knew that. They didn’t have many supplies though. They’d left Blackwater in such a hurry, even grabbing supplies seemed near impossible. But, Yakko had noticed that ever since they’d left the camp by Blackwater, Pearson had a bottle of liquor in his hands. Of course he’d brought alcohol instead of food. Yakko pushed a bitter thought away, and pulled Wakko into his lap, holding his little brother close. Wakko doesn’t complain of course, and truth be told he hasn’t the energy to complain even if he wanted to.

The wait for Arthur and Javier is long, and boring. At least that’s what it felt like, especially for the Warners. Yakko was in the same boat, huddled with his sibs, a blanket or two around Wakko. He’s shivering, sniffling, and trying to hide his whole body, including his face, in the blankets. Dot’s even shivering, though not as bad as her brother. Yakko hoped that she wouldn’t get sick too, but perhaps considering their luck, she might be next with catching a cold. And if they were any unluckier, Yakko would probably get at least a cough.

“How you kids holdin’ up?” Hosea approaches the sibs from behind, crouching to check up on them.

“Wakko’s sick,” Yakko responds, gently rubbing his sib’s back. He felt maybe the tiniest bit guilty. If he’d kept Wakko covered a little more on the trek up the mountain, perhaps he wouldn’t be in this state. Hosea frowns at that answer, now a worried expression on his face. Another thing to be worried about. Just what he needed.

“Do we have anything for him?” Yakko asks as an impulse, looking up at Hosea. _Please have something._

“I reckon we ought to have somethin’ that might help,” the older man says, and he gently pats Yakko’s shoulder, before heading over to the door.

“You three stay here, I’ll be right back.” And Hosea left the cabin, presumably heading out to find what little medicine he believed they had. Yakko had watched the older man leave, and got right back to having his focus on his sickly sibling. He hoped they had at least _something_ for him. They might, seeing as how they’d raided that one ranch house just north of here. Yakko had heard Arthur speak about it from afar, and he remembered hearing something about some type of medicine. 

“Do we even have any medicine?” Dot asks softly, glancing up to her big brother, a worried expression on her face.

“Dunno, Hosea’s checkin’ right now.”

“What are we gonna do if we don’t have any medicine?”

“We’ll have something Dot, don’t worry.” Yakko didn’t want Wakko worrying either, seeing as how he was sitting between the two of them. He was sure saying that a lot lately, wasn’t he? Telling his siblings not to worry. Yakko wished that there wasn’t anything for them to worry about in the first place- but, it is what it is.

And just another moment later, Hosea would come back, closing the door quickly behind him once he was inside the cabin. He headed back over to the Warners, noticing that Wakko had undoubtedly fallen asleep.

“Give this to your brother when he wakes up,” Hosea handed a small bottle to Yakko, who took it eagerly, eyeing it for a moment. There was no label on the bottle, it had probably worn away. 

“It’ll taste horrible, but it’ll get the boy back on his feet at least.”

“Thank you Hosea.”

“Don’t mention it son,” the older pats Yakko on the shoulder, and makes his way back to his previous spot, by Abigail and Jack, starting some small talk with them. Yakko turns his attention back to Wakko, who was still sound asleep. He hoped his sib wouldn’t be asleep much longer, the sooner he takes this medicine the better. But, for now, he supposed he’d wait. Wait for his brother to wake up, and wait for Arthur and Javier to bring John back.

An hour or so past, give or take a few minutes, Arthur and Javier finally returned with John. The man was bruised and bloody, fresh scars littering his face. Hosea and Abigail had gone out to help John off of Javier’s horse, Javier scolding them to be careful of his leg after John yelled out in pain. Even Herr Strauss was there to investigate just what was happening. Yakko had followed Hosea to the door, just watching him and Abigail get John back inside. 

“This is a new low, even by your standards.” He heard Abigail say to her battered husband, who just grumbled something in response. Yakko made a face once he’d seen the extent of John’s scars. What happened to him even? He tried listening to the ongoing conversation outside, between Arthur and Hosea.

“You got any other lost maidens need savin’?” 

“Not today.”

A pause.

“Have you and Dutch talked about how we’re gonna get out of this?”

“I was just discussing with Herr Strauss, when the weather breaks, I suppose we’ll have to keep heading east.” _East?_ That wasn’t where anyone wanted to be. Yakko made a face at that.

“ _East?_ Into all that- that _civilization?_ ” Arthur sounded just as exasperated as Yakko’s thoughts did.

“I know, but the _west_ is where our problems are worse,” Hosea responds, rubbing his arms to try and warm himself up a tad. Well, he wasn’t exactly wrong about that. The west for the Van der Linde gang was very… unsafe. No place for any of them to go. And then Hosea and Herr Strauss are leaving heading back inside the cabin to warm up. Yakko follows them back, not before noticing Arthur heading back to his own cabin. 

Yakko lets himself think for a few moments, seeing as how his sibs had decided to go and bother Hosea for the time being. He loved his sibs, but he was thankful they were pestering someone other than him right now. East. If there was anywhere Yakko didn’t want to be more, it was east. The west was where he belonged, roaming the open plains with his sibs and the gang. Heading into civilization was the exact opposite of what Yakko had wanted. But- unfortunately, there was no other choice. But, who knows, maybe heading east won’t be all so bad. Might be more rich folk to rob anyhow. That’s always a good thing.

The next day came quicker than the last. Yakko, despite all odds, actually got some sleep this time around. And better luck yet, the storm died down. It was still freezing cold of course, but the snow had seemed to come to a stop. Yakko awoke to discover both of his siblings gone from his side, and for a brief moment he got overly worried, until realizing that they were just outside in the snow, playing with Jack. How they wanted to go out and play when it was freezing was beyond him, but he didn’t question it. He yawns, standing up and stretching, as he decides to make his way outside the cabin.

Yakko noticed Arthur just walking out of his cabin, and heading towards the stables, or moreso where Pearson had his own little setup going. It wasn’t much, and they were honestly running out of food. Maybe Arthur was going to check up on that? Better investigate.

“Hey old man, where ya headin’?” Yakko quickly makes his way towards Arthur, who sighs at the nickname of “old man”. He was only 36, he wasn’t terribly old. Older than Yakko though, for sure.

“Goin’ to check up on Pearson,” Arthur replies, quickly glancing at Yakko for a moment. He seemed a little more chipper than yesterday. Good. Kid needs a decent day for once. 

“Ooh can I come?”

“You don’t need permission to check up on people.”

And with that, they’re only a bit away from Pearson, who looks rather frustrated. He and Arthur have an exchange, Yakko is just looking around the area. It wasn’t the most impressive. And the lack of food was worrying.

“We’ve got a few cans of food left, and a rabbit, for what, ten, twelve, fifteen people?” A brief pause.

“When I was in the navy-”

“I do not wish to hear about what you got up to in the Navy, Mr. Pearson.”

“We were stranded at sea, for fifty days.” Yakko rolls his eyes when Pearson continues talking, despite Arthur’s initial protest. 

“And you unfortunately survived.” Pearson grumbled at Arthur’s response. Nonetheless, he continued.

“When we ran away from Blackwater, I wasn’t able to get supplies in.”

“Well when government agents are huntin’ you down sometimes shoppin’ trips need to be cut short. We’ll survive, we always have.” Another pause. “And if needs be we can eat you, you’re the fattest.” Yakko suppressed a snort laugh, covering his mouth. Pearson glared at him for that.

“I sent Lenny and Bill out hunting, and they found _nothing._ ” There Pearson goes with changing the subject again. Yakko noticed Charles heading towards them, warming his hands up by the fire, same as he and Arthur.

“Well Lenny’s more into book learnin’ than huntin’. And Bill’s a fool. Unless those mountains are full of game that wanna read ain’t no wonder they found nothin’-”

“Enough of this,” Charles speaks up now, looking at Arthur. “We’ll go find something. Come on Arthur.” Charles had started walking to the horses, before Pearson told them to wait, grabbing some bottle of… 

“Here, you’re gonna need something to eat out there.” Pearson tossed the bottle to Arthur, who caught it, and made a face at the label. 

“Assorted salted offal... “ Arthur’s quiet for a second, glancing at Yakko and Charles.

“Starving would be preferable. “ 

“Come on, let’s go.” Charles turned again, only to be stopped by Arthur.

“You can’t go hunting, look at your hand.”

“I can’t stay here listening to you two. Look, if there’s game in those hills I can find it. And you can kill it.”

“You need to rest Charles,” Arthur tries again. Yakko makes a face, it’s hard to get rest in a place like this, and the weather makes it worse.

“You think this is rest?” Charles retorts, making a small gesture to the camp itself. Arthur grumbles at that, and Charles keeps moving towards the horses, telling Arthur to follow. Yakko wants to go with them desperately.

“Can I come with you guys?” Yakko starts heading after Arthur once he ultimately gives in, gently tugging on the outlaw’s coat sleeve. Arthur glances to him, then back at Charles. He can’t exactly say no to Yakko. He knows he’s a decent hunter. 

“Charles, is it alright if the kid tags along with us?” Arthur stops Charles before he mounts up on his horse, and the other man glances at Yakko. Well. The more the merrier, right?

“As long as he behaves himself, I know how he gets.”

“I’ll be on my _best_ behavior Mr. Smith,” Yakko promises, nodding his head. He knows he has a reputation in the gang for being a troublemaker. So do his sibs. But, that’s just how they are. Charles hands Arthur his bow and some arrows, telling him that he’ll need to be using it, seeing as how he can’t pull a bow, and that if he used a gun, he’d scare off all the game in their area. And then, the three of them are mounted up, and off on a hunt.

Luckily for the three, the hunt was a success. Between the three of their horses, they were able to carry back three deer, enough to feed the entire gang for a few days. Arthur did most of the killing, offering Yakko a chance to shoot his shot with the bow. And unsurprisingly, his shot was perfect. The two older outlaws had praised Yakko for that, patting the kid on his back. Yeah, good job Yakko, you killed a deer! Pearson was also rather happy to see the three of them coming back with all that meat, and Arthur stayed back to help skin the animals. He had told Charles to go rest his hand up, telling Yakko to go check up on his sibs. Lucky for him, Wakko and Dot were back inside the cabin, though still playing with Jack. Yakko informs his siblings that they’ll more than likely have a full meal tonight, given the hunt he, Arthur and Charles went on. Both Wakko and Dot seem incredibly relieved at that fact. Even Jack, and Abigail who just so happened to be listening to their conversation seemed happy about that. Maybe their luck was starting to turn around a little.


	3. Who the Hell is Leviticus Cornwall?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka colter part 3  
> yes i'll be naming some of the chapters after the missions in rdr2 it'll b fun<  
> super long chapter bc i want to get tf outta colter!!!!!!!!

Yakko stands outside the cabin, observing the area around the camp. The sun seems to be shining for once, albeit still being freezing cold outside. A little bit of sunshine wouldn’t be enough for a thaw though, and he knew everyone was waiting on a thaw, so they could hurry up and leave this place behind them. Yakko couldn’t blame them. They weren’t built for the cold, most humans aren’t unless they dress head to toe in furs. Yakko and his sibs are lucky they have fur and are somewhat cold resistant. But, that’s besides the point right now. Yakko spots Arthur heading into the cabin where Bill, Micah, Lenny and Javier are staying. Yakko would’ve gone to investigate, but he isn’t exactly keen on Micah. Sure he’d mess around with that fool from time to time, but truth be told, he’d rather conserve his energy rather than annoy the living hell out of some rat looking bastard. And then a moment later, Dutch is heading into that same cabin, shouting some nonsense. And all the boys are following him seconds later, mounting up. Yakko can vaguely make out what they’re saying. Something about the o’Driscolls.

“Where are they goin’?” Dot, who had decided to join her big brother outside piped up, as she watched the men mount up, starting to head out.

“Dunno, Dutch said somethin’ about the o’Driscolls.”

“You’re not going with them?”

“If Micah’s there, I’m not going anywhere,” Yakko huffs, and pats his sister’s shoulder.

“Besides, I gotta stay with you and Wakko and make sure you don’t get into any trouble.”

“There’s no trouble to get into up here anyways,” Dot folds her arms across her chest, pouting. Well, she was right about that. Aside from occasionally pestering Hosea for a story, or bothering Arthur, or even playing with Jack, that really wasn’t much to do up here aside wait for the thaw.

“I wanna get off this mountain, it’s so _boring._ ”

“Don’t worry sis, we’ll be outta here soon enough.” 

“We better be. I’m tired of the snow.”

“You and Wakko were playing in it this morning-”

“Yeah well it sucks now.” There’s no arguing with her on that. “Plus it makes my paws all cold and wet when I go back inside! And the same thing happens to you I bet!”

“It does, I just don’t complain about it as much,” Yakko replies, now nudging his sister back towards the door.

“C’mon, back inside, we’ll go warm up by the fire.”

An hour passes. Maybe it’s been an hour. Yakko’s honestly lost track, he’d gotten preoccupied with listening to another one of Hosea’s stories with his sibs. There was a commotion outside, presumably Dutch and the boys coming back. Hosea paid it no mind at first, continuing to tell the kids his story. Yakko does glance out the window, noticing rather quickly that it had gotten dark outside. That fast? Huh. Maybe it was just the clouds though.

“You think Dutch and them got back already?” Yakko looks to Hosea, who’d also glance out the window once he heard all the noise.

“Probably,” the older man didn’t seem too concerned about it, or maybe he looked mildly annoyed. Then again everybody was kind of grumpy looking sincere they’d gotten up here. Getting chased by the government into a snowstorm can do that to a person apparently. Regardless, Hosea just tries to focus back on telling the Warners another story, and the three of them happily listened. Finding out what Dutch and the others were doing wasn’t much of their concern right now anyways. Hosea was cooler.

More time would pass. Not much, but enough time for Hosea to wrap his stories up, urging the kids to go get some rest, or at the very least get something to eat. Wakko of course jumped at the opportunity to get food, nearly tugging both his siblings outside. Opening the door, it would come to their disappointment that it was windy, and the snow had kicked up again. 

“Is this snow _ever_ gonna quit it? My paws are gonna freeze off at this point!” Dot whines, sticking closer to her brother as they walk to Pearson’s setup by the stables.

“Aw quit complainin’,” Wakko grumbles, grabbing some salted venison from the table. “Hosea said we’ll be outta here in no time.”

“He said that the other day too.”

“He said we have to wait for a thaw,” Yakko interjects, grabbing a can of fruit, and carefully tossing it to Dot.

“The wagons are still pretty snowed in. But I bet a thaw’ll happen soon.”

“It better. I’m sick of this dumb snow,” Dot scowls, kicking at the freshly fallen snow with her foot.

Before the conversation could continue, Arthur would ride into camp, with someone hogtied on the back of his horse. That instantly got the Warners’ attention.

“Here we are, you sack of shit, let’s introduce you to the boys.” Arthur had that normal scowl to his voice back now, and once his horse was hitched, he’d remove the stranger from the back of his horse. The Warners only watched.

“Don’t hurt me, please-” The stranger begs, his voice wavering. 

“Aw don’t worry, they’re _real_ nice.” 

Yakko exchanged a look with his sibs, seems they’re going to be able to have fun up here after all. A new person to annoy the living daylights out of!

“You found the little shit, did you?” Dutch steps out of his cabin as Arthur approaches.

“Yep, I got him,” Arthur grunts as he drops the stranger onto the ground, causing him to whimper. _Now_ the Warners had to investigate. Yakko headed over first, his sibs tailing behind him, just in case something were to happen. Arthur did cut the ropes tied around the stranger’s feet, hoisting him up haphazardly.

“Very good. Welcome to your new home, hope you’re _real_ happy here,” Dutch continues, Yakko noticing a rather large piece of paper in the leader’s hands. A map? Sure looked like one.

“You want me to make him talk?” Arthur’s got the stranger held tight, a rough grip on his shoulder.

“Oh no, now all we’ll get is lies.” Dutch turned, looking to his side. “Uncle, Mr. Williamson, tie this maggot up someplace safe. We get him hungry first. I got a sayin’, my friend…” Dutch takes a step closer to the stranger, the boy was terrified, as Bill and Uncle kept a firm grip on his shoulders.

“We shoot fellas as need shootin’, save fellas as need savin’, and feed ‘em, as need feedin’. We’re gonna find out what _you_ need.” Dutch’s expression turned to a smirk, and he laughed as he headed back to the cabin. Bill and Uncle started walking to the stables.

“I can’t believe it! An o’Driscoll in _my_ camp.”

“No! I ain’t an o’Driscoll mister! I hate that fella!” The stranger calls back, grunting when Bill grabs his head, forcing him to keep his head down. The Warners watch as the two men take him away.

“Oh whatever you say son!” Dutch calls back, rolling up the map in his hands. “Well done Arthur,” he adds.

“I’m jus’ sorry we missed out on Colm.”

“Oh, there’s time enough for that. Now, I gotta figure out if we can hit that train.” And Dutch disappeared back inside. Once he was gone, Arthur would glance to the Warners, who were still eyeing Bill and Uncle, who were struggling to get the o’Driscoll boy inside the stables, as he was kicking and complaining, saying he wasn’t no o’Driscoll.

“Feel free to bother that fella as much as you want by the way,” Arthur nods to the Warners, and heads towards his cabin. Hearing that though, the three siblings perk up instantly.

“Really?” Yakko feels a small wave of relief, it felt like _ages_ since they’d last pulled any hijinks on anyone.

“Don’t see why not. Jus’- Jus’ don’t kill ‘im. He can be useful, maybe.”

“No murder, got it!” Dot notes, nodding her head eagerly. Arthur just waves the three off, and that’s really all they need to head towards the stables, preparing to pester the o’Driscoll.

Upon entering the stable, Yakko noticed that the o’Driscoll was tied to one of the posts for the stalls. He looked miserable.

“Gee pal, what’s with the long face?” Yakko makes the first comment, trotting over to the o’Driscoll, eyeing him up and down. Scrawny. Messy hair, somewhat of a beard. Sad eyes. 

“W-what?”

“You look miserable!” Wakko adds, poking his head out from behind his brother.

“And you stink,” Dot makes a face, holding her nose to protect her from smelling anything.

“T-that’s not me that’s- That’s the horses-”

“Oh excuses excuses buddy,” Yakko rolls his eyes, now shuffling around, continuously eyeing the o’Driscoll.

“All o’Driscolls smell like garbage.”

“I ain’t an o’Driscoll!” The boy argues, now just looking annoyed.

“If you ain’t an o’Driscoll then why’s Dutch keep callin’ you one?” Dot pokes at the boy’s leg, frowning.

“Maybe he’s a compulsive liar,” Wakko suggests.

“Listen- please, I ain’t no o’Driscoll,” the boy tries again, looking rather desperate. 

“Sounds like something a liar would say,” Yakko scratches his chin, stepping closer to the o’Driscoll, squinting and staring straight at him. The o’Driscoll tries to shuffle in his spot, discomforted by how close this- what was he, a dog? No idea. Regardless, the poor kid’s rather frightened.

“Yep, totally a loser o’Driscoll,” Yakko steps back, nodding.

“What are we gonna do to him?” Dot tilts her head, looking between her brothers.

“I can sneeze on ‘im,” Wakko suggests, coincidentally sniffling right after that. Yakko shakes his head.

“Nah, gettin’ him sick would just be a bad idea.”

“Please don’t get me sick,” The boy whimpers, he’s got no idea why he’s intimidated by three dog children but here he is.

“Can’t you- Can’t you just leave me alone?”

“But that’s no fun!” Dot protests, her hands going to her hips, pouting.

“Picking on people is what we do best!” Wakko agrees, nodding his head.

“It’s our love language,” Yakko pats the stranger’s shoulder, who winces at the touch, mumbling something under his breath.

“But since you asked nicely, we’ll leave you alone. Just this once.” Wakko and Dot both groan at that.

“C’mon sibs, we can bother the stinky o’Driscoll tomorrow.”

“I ain’t an o’Driscoll!”

“Whatever ya say pal.”  
  


Days passed. A thaw was finally taking place, the weather warming up ever so slightly. Dot and Wakko both still complained however, seeing as how the snow was turning mushy, and patches of mud and dirt were starting to show up in front of the cabins. What do you know, there was a path under all that snow the whole time! The past several days though, spirits seemed to be lifting a little. People were starting to get back onto their feet, even Wakko, who did have a minor cold, seemed to have a little extra spring in his step. Then again, it could also be from that medicine that his brother forced him to take. 

It's late morning, Yakko is inside, sitting by the fireplace still. He’d been outside keeping an eye on his sibs who were playing around with Jack, but had gone inside because frankly, his nose and paws were starting to feel numb. Besides, he trusted that his siblings could behave on their own with Jack. The cabin itself though, was quiet, Reverend Swanson looking over a still beat up John at the back. Yakko wasn’t sure what they were doing, and frankly he didn’t care, all he wanted right now was to warm up. Until Arthur came in, heading to the back of the room, to check up on John.

“I thought you was reading him his last rites, now I see you’re introducing him to your other passion,” Arthur comments, stopping by the chair Swanson was sat in.

“I’ll mind you to show me some respect, Mr. Morgan.”

“Mind away reverend.” Arthur watches the reverend leave, a scowl on his face now. The outlaw takes the seat besides the cot that Swanson had sat in, looking to John. He was still recovering, a bloodied bandage covering his face. 

“You’re still here then?”

“...I owe you,” John replies. Arthur scoffs.

“And you’ll pay me. But for the moment, just rest.” Yakko had admittedly wanted to wander over and join the conversation once Reverend Swanson left, and he did get up, heading over to the two outlaws after a second. Getting a closer look at the bandages at John’s face, Yakko scrunches his nose up.

“Geez, somebody better get you a new band aid wolfman.”

“Shut up,” John grumbles, not in the mood for Yakko’s antics. Even if the boy said it in a joking tone without meaning much malicious intent behind it, John wasn’t having it. And that just made Yakko frown. Man. He thought would’ve gotten maybe a chuckle out of him. Arthur found it funny though, seeing as how he got the smallest chuckle.

And then the front door to the cabin opens and closes abruptly. Yakko turns to look, seeing Dutch, with that same map in his hands from the night Arthur brought the o’Driscoll boy back.

“Arthur, I think it’s time for the train.”

Suppose it _was_ about time to hit the train. Hosea didn’t seem to want them to do anything with the train though. He said that the weather was breaking, that they could leave now. Well, they _were_ supposed to be lying low. Robbing a big train definitely didn’t count as “lying low.” Dutch had been apprehensive about Hosea’s caution, Hosea just saying that he didn’t want anyone else to die. That was a valid concern, but again, Dutch refused to stay back. 

“We’re living, Hosea, we’re living. Look at me, we’re living, even you. But we _need_ money. Everything we have’s in Blackwater. You fancy heading back there?”

“No.” Was Hosea’s response, he was anxious, maybe, even Yakko could figure that. “Listen Dutch, I ain’t tryin’ to undermine you, I just… I just wanna stick to the plan, which was to lie low, then head back out west. Now- suddenly we’re about to rob a train.” Yakko suddenly felt a smidgen guilty for agreeing to come along on this robbery, moreso pressured into it by his siblings’ encouragement. _What are we getting ourselves into?_

“What choice, have we got?” Dutch narrows his eyes, Yakko feels a vague sense of tension.

“Leviticus Cornwall’s no joke Dutch, he’s-”

“Who _is_ Leviticus Cornwall?” Arthur interrupts, genuinely curious.

“Yeah who the hell is that? He’s got a stupid name.” Yakko butts in, but is hushed by Arthur; almost like a ‘shut up the adults are talking’ sort of thing. 

“He’s a big railway magnate, sugar dealer, oil man-”

“Well good for him,” Dutch interrupts Hosea. “Sounds like he has more than enough to share.” Hosea just gives Dutch an aggravated look, now realizing there’s no talking this man out of robbing this train. 

“Dutch!-” Hosea’s tone is exasperated as Dutch turns to the rest of the gang, telling them to mount up and get ready. Arthur pats Yakko on the back, encouraging him to follow, even if the boy looked doubtful.

“Are we sure this is a good idea?” Yakko has to ask, he just wants to make sure that they’re going about this right. Which, they’re definitely not, but- he knows he has to trust Dutch. And Arthur. But a part of him really knows that Hosea’s right. 

“We’ll be fine. Not like we haven’t robbed a big train like this before,” Arthur mounts up and follows Dutch, Yakko doing the same and following right behind the other boys. This had better be worth the trouble.

Perhaps it would’ve been worth the trouble, if Bill actually blew the tracks up like he said he was going to do and if Micah wasn’t along. Suppose the only good thing so far was that they were off the mountains, for now. Yakko felt like it had been ages since he’d seen any kind of green grass, or a pine that wasn’t covered in powdery snow. 

Everyone collectively groaned when the train rode past, Dutch yelling at Arthur, Yakko, Lenny and Javier to chase after the damn thing. The four of them ran, jumping onto the train as quick as they could manage, only Javier fell off. Yakko panicked for a minute, only to be relieved when Javier did get back up after he fell. Thank whatever god was out there for that. Lenny, however, had slipped, hanging tightly onto the railing on the side of the car. Arthur had helped him up quickly. Now it’s time to get this bastard to stop.

The interior of the car they’d ran into once they’d dropped from the roof of the train, felt like it didn’t belong on a train. There was however, a guard in the car, who didn’t even notice the three outlaws until Lenny put a knife in his neck. 

Everything looked way too fancy though, but Yakko admittedly snagged a fancy looking watch that had been left on a little couch thing.

“This guy’s got way too much money if his _train_ looks like a mansion,” Yakko scoffed, taking note of the rest of the interior. Way too gaudy.

“Save the comments for after we stop the train,” Arthur grumbles, following Lenny to the door. Yakko frowned, but followed regardless, keeping as quiet as he could.

“There’s another guard up ahead, you want me to take him?”

“I’ve got it,” Arthur sneaks out the door, and the next part of the train is open, with what looked like crates of supplies maybe. Of course, that didn’t matter really, as Arthur just decided to push the guard right off the train. The impact probably killed him. Good. 

“There’s more guards up ahead, in that next car,” Yakko warns, hiding behind a barrel to avoid being spotted. Arthur and Lenny attempted the same, eyeing the train car.

“Jus’ shoot ‘em Arthur.” And that’s when all hell broke loose.  
  


Well, the shootout had gone better than expected. Yakko hadn’t exactly killed anyone, but he had wounded multiple guards, Arthur and the rest of the gang doing the dirty work. Yakko has never really killed a man before. Personally he didn’t see a point to killing any men, though strangely enough he had the backbone to shoot and mortally wound people however. He left the killing to the rest of the gang, or just other people. 

The other gang members had joined them shortly after the train had been stopped seconds moments prior by Arthur. There sure were a lot of those stupid bastards. _Does this guy really need that many guards? What the hell is he hiding?_ Though, after all that, there was one car left. One car left, with more guards who refused to open the door.

“What are you boys planning on doing in there?” Dutch and the rest of the boys walked towards the last train car, all guns still in hand, bandannas still covering their faces. 

“Listen to me, we don’t wanna kill any of you-” Dutch would pause, glancing to the bodies strewn about the snowy ground. “-any more of you. I give you my word, but trust me we _will._ ” 

“I work for Leviticus Cornwall!” One of the guards shouted from inside the car. Yakko rolls his eyes when he hears that.

“We got our orders!” 

“Okay. You asked for it,” Dutch shrugs, taking a step or two back from the train car, glancing at the rest of the gang members. 

“We ain’t opening this door!” The same guard said, as Dutch began counting down. _What are we gonna do?_ Once he finished, the guards seemed to go silent.

“Seems like our friends have gone deaf,” Dutch took more steps back, taking his pistol out of his holster, the rest of the boys readying their guns, pointing them to the metal door.

“Wake ‘em up a little!”

The gunshots were loud, and rang in Yakko’s ears. The bullets left small marks on the metal of the door, other than that they didn’t do all that much damage. Then again, striking a metal door with bullets from any kind of gun, would seem to be ineffective in any case. Maybe unless if the ammo was somehow explosive. 

“We ain’t comin’ out! You got no way in here!” The guards called out again, but the shooting didn’t stop until after another second.

“That’s enough!” Dutch calls, holstering his pistol again.

“Mr. Williamson, give Mr. Morgan and Mr. Smith some dynamite. You two boys, go blow that door open.” Arthur and Charles took the dynamite from Bill, heading up to the car, readying the dynamite.

“Now it don’t matter too much to us, but you boys in there, might wanna take a step back.” 

Arthur and Charles ignite the dynamite, walking quickly back to the rest of the gang, most of them covering their ears in anticipation. And to no one’s shock, once the dynamite blew, the door to the train car opened.

“Alright now, come on, just walk on outta there,” Dutch encourages, as the three guards finally exit the car, their hands up, fearful expressions on their faces.

“We don’t wanna kill you, we just wanna rob your boss.” Dutch keeps a close eye on the guards, Bill and Arthur keeping their guns pointed to the men as they walk away from the train. Bill nudges the three guards to the ground, sternly telling them to stay put. 

“Now go on, get up there,” Dutch instructs Arthur, Micah, Lenny and Yakko to investigate the train car.

This train car is much more impressive, more disgustingly gaudy than the first car that Yakko stepped foot in. 

“Look at this place! It’s like a palace,” Lenny is pretty much in awe at the state of the car.

“Now I’ve seen everything,” Arthur grumbles, rolling his eyes as he looks over the state of the car. It definitely was very fancy. Way too fancy, for Yakko’s liking of course. They were looking for bonds, if he remembered right. Dutch said they’d be able to sell them for good money at some point.

There was a desk, at the far end of the car, that looked somewhat important. Micah and Lenny took the front half of the car, Yakko and Arthur taking the back end. Yakko stopped at the desk, noticing a letter. Hm. He snagged it, reading it over. It was a letter from some sort of coal company, Yakko makes a face, he just puts the letter down, eying the rest of the desk. Ooh, a bottle of brandy. A rather fancy looking bottle, and Yakko grabbed it, making sure Arthur wasn’t looking when he grabbed it. Lucky for him, the older outlaw was looking in a cabinet on a bookcase. Yakko nods to himself, and moves to the other side of the desk, opening the drawer. Inside is just a case of cigarettes, and a stack of money. Twenty five bucks! Good.

“Think I got ‘em,” Arthur calls, starting to head to the door of the car. Yakko perks up, following him eagerly. The four of them exit the car, Arthur informing Dutch of the bonds, the leader praising him. Now all that’s left to do is get on out of here and take care of the guards. At first, Yakko thought Arthur would kill the guards, but he didn’t. Instead he just yelled at them to not say a word, or he  _ would _ kill them, and he’d usher them back into the train car.

“What now?” Yakko followed Arthur, who was walking the length of the train.

“Gotta get this train goin’, then we head back to camp.” Arthur replies, stepping over one of the guard’s dead bodies as he kept walking.

“Are we gonna be leaving the mountains then?”

“I reckon Hosea’s gonna want to get us as far away from this place as possible.” 

_ Oh thank god. _ Yakko’s had enough of the mountains as is. He can’t wait to get back to at least some open country, and out of the snow. Hopefully he’d be able to go outside without having to make sure his coat was properly buttoned.

“I dunno how much more of that snow I could’ve taken.”

“You and me both boy.” 

Arthur hoisted himself up into the front of the train, pulling a lever down, starting the thing back up. He jumps back down quickly, whistling to his horse. Yakko did the same, and once the two were mounted up, they headed back to their camp in the mountains, for the last time.


	4. Eastward Bound

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> colter arc is over everybody say yeehaw

The moment Yakko noticed the wagons finally being pulled out and the horses get tacked up, he’d never been happier to get the hell out of a camp before. Or, moreso move camps. It’d been a day since the train robbery, and Dutch had decided that night that they should leave in the morning. Thankfully the thaw held, and they’d be able to leave early. And when Yakko told his siblings that they’d be leaving the next morning, both his siblings were just as ecstatic as he was, tails wagging and all.

The next morning came slowly though, given Yakko struggled with falling asleep with thoughts of moving camp and heading somewhere much warmer. Not to mention that he’d heard his siblings whispering by the fire that night, talking about what they’d want to do when they got off the mountain. He remembers Dot mentioning how she wanted to get a new dress, Wakko mentioning that he just wanted to raid any if all restaurants. Yakko felt himself smile, listening to his siblings talk about all that nonsense. In a way, it eased him, knowing that the two of them were more preoccupied with thinking about miscellaneous activities, rather than what would happen to the gang with those government agents on their tails. Another thing that had comforted him was that Wakko’s little cold had seemed to mostly just ebb away. He definitely did seem more energetic than the days prior. And neither Yakko, or Dot seemed to have contracted anything from Wakko either. Truth be told, Yakko didn’t have a single worry as he eventually fell asleep. Worry’s for another day.

When the time came to head out, Yakko had noticed Dutch and Hosea being unagreeable still, as the wagons were still being packed up.

“He’s still mad about the train thing?” Dot keeps her voice down, and she follows behind her oldest brother as he carries some supplies to one of the wagons. Wakko just follows behind, not really wanting to hear those two argue.

“Guess so,” Yakko responds, placing the supplies in the back of the wagon, leaning up against it.

“We’ve got money though, he shouldn’t be so upset.”

“We were supposed to be lying low,” Yakko explains, and Dot just folds her arms across her chest again.

“And? Nobody’s gonna know it was _us_ that robbed the train. There’s tons of outlaws out here! And we could pin it on the o’Driscolls.” That was a possibility. And probably a smart thing to do. But if those guards spoke- which they probably did- the chances pinning this crime on the o’Driscolls wouldn't be very good.

“That’s a good idea though, pinning it on the o’Driscolls,” Wakko speaks up, nodding his head in agreement.

“We should tell that to Dutch. He likes good ideas.”

“Yeah! Come on Yakko let’s go tell Dutch!”

“Tell me what?” Dutch’s voice admittedly spooked both Dot and Wakko since it was so sudden, and they’d quickly hide behind their big brother. Only to realize it was just Dutch speaking. 

“We have an idea about how we can avoid getting blamed for the train robbery!” Dot exclaims, rather happily. Wakko again nods his head, sharing the same enthusiasm.

“Just pin it on the o’Driscolls!”

Dutch just chuckles at that. Yakko knows it’s a pity laugh but Dutch is very good at being believable. Both he and Yakko know that Dot and Wakko’s idea probably wouldn’t work in the long run, but, maybe. There was a small part of Yakko that hoped that if push came to shove, that they’d be able to use that excuse. It wasn’t a total lie. The o’Driscolls had planned on robbing the train before the boys went to sabotage them.

“We’ll see about that,” Dutch says, and gently pats Dot’s shoulder, motioning to one the wagon that Abigail, Jack and John were getting into.

“Now you three go get yourselves settled, we’ve got a long ride ahead of us.” The Warners didn’t have to be told twice, they’d join the Marstons in the wagon, instantly pestering John. Dutch was right, this was definitely going to be a long ride.

The ride to the new camp took a rather long time, everyone would admit that. It’d taken most of the day, just to get out of the mountains. But it was worth it once they’d gotten out of the snow and mountains. The Warners stayed with the Marstons half the trip, only to hop out, run around for a moment to stretch their legs, and then catch up to the last wagon in the caravan, which was driven by Arthur, with Hosea next to him. The Warners had quickly hopped up onto the wagon, Wakko instantly sandwiching himself between Arthur and Hosea, Dot sitting on Arthur’s shoulders. Yakko however had taken to sitting in the back, simply because he’d wanted to sight see. He’d leave pestering Arthur and Hosea to his siblings for the time being.

Of course however, after crossing the river, one of the back wheels on the wagon had decided to fall off. Arthur curses, hopping off the wagon. Bill, who was driving the wagon in front of them stopped too, asking what happened. And Charles, who had been on that wagon hopped off to investigate. Javier even asked if they needed help, Hosea saying that they’d be able to handle it, only presumably because he’d seen Charles heading over.

“Ooh, they broke the wheeeel,” Dot teases from the front of the wagon, sitting in the driver’s seat with Wakko. 

“How will we ever recover from this?” Wakko flops down on the seat beside his sister, getting a giggle out of her.

“We’re finished, absolutely _done_ for,” Yakko contributes, earning him a tired look from Arthur. Though Hosea did laugh at that.

“Come on Charles- you and me hold the thing up while Arthur gets the wheel back on.” 

“You still strong enough to hold up a wagon?” Arthur rolls the wheel over to the wagon while Hosea and Charles hold the thing up.

“Shut up.” Hosea strains, glancing at Arthur while he shoved the wheel back into place. 

“I’m jus’ sayin’.”

“Well say less.”

Luckily Arthur was able to put the wheel in place no problem, and they were able to get back on the road. Well, they would be, had it not been for Hosea spotting three men on horses, on the cliff overlooking the trail they were on. Once the Warners noticed that though, they froze, unsure of what to do. They couldn’t see who the men were, what if they’d been bounty hunters.

“What you think?”

“If they wanted trouble, we wouldn’t have seen ‘em,” Charles responds, and they’d finish packing some of the things that had fallen out of the wagon when the wheel had come off. Hosea said something about how “we really screwed them over down here,” Yakko could only assume he was talking about the men on the cliff but had no idea what he meant outside of that.

The drive to the new camp continued, Hosea talking most of the time, telling stories and such, lightly poking fun at Arthur which the Warners joined in on. All in all, the trip was anything but dull. And the scenery was a sight to behold. And the lack of snow was the best part! Dot asked Hosea if she and Wakko could go play once they got to the new camp, only because she’d wanted to spend as most time as she could enjoying the sunshine and warmth. Hosea agreed, just warned her that she ought to do some work afterwards. She promised she’d work at some point.

At last, they’d gotten to the new camp after an hour or two. It was late afternoon by the time they arrived, Dot and Wakko hurriedly jumping off the wagon to explore the camp. Yakko would stay behind waiting to help with anything that needed to be done. Though, Arthur excuses him, telling him to just keep an eye on his siblings.

“Don’t you want help unloading everything?-”

“Give it a few minutes, Dutch is gonna give us a speech sooner or later and I doubt you wanna stick around to hear it.”

“Good point.” Yakko nods, and heads off to look for his sibs, who thankfully hadn’t even gone that far, just playing by the rocks. And sure enough, Yakko could hear Dutch speaking, though right now it just sounded like he was badgering Hosea again. Or, Hosea was badgering him. Some type of argument, Yakko didn’t really care for listening. Though sure enough, after a moment, Dutch did start up a speech.

“Another one?” Dot sits down on one of the bigger rocks, half listening while Dutch makes his speech.

“Guess so,” Yakko mumbles, catching bits and pieces of Dutch’s speech. Something about how things have been rough lately, but they’re safe now. But that they were also far too poor. _That was an understatement._ Yakko only had twenty five dollars on his person, of which he planned to maybe get his sibs something from the nearby town. That, or get some good food from somewhere, as opposed to Pearson’s stew. Which, nothing was wrong with it, but Yakko personally didn’t want to only survive on stew all the time. All the while Dutch continued talking, telling _everyone_ to get to work, to make some money, by any means necessary. Yakko could do that. Nearly four years of living on his own with his sibs, and four years with the gang, he knew how to get money, or make it if need be. He wasn’t short in skill that’s for sure.

Hosea had warned everyone not to get into trouble though, which Yakko had picked up on, and cursed to himself. He was a Warner, how could he, let alone his siblings, _not_ get into trouble? After a moment though, Dutch’s speech had finished, and Yakko noticed Miss Grimshaw walking Arthur over to what appeared to be his tent. Good to know where that was, because wherever Arthur was, the Warners would usually follow. 

“I’m gonna go check up on Arthur,” Yakko says, and starts heading over to the older outlaw. His sibs just shrug, getting back to playing pretend, or whatever they’d been doing prior to their brother coming over.

“Long couple days, huh?” Arthur nods to Yakko as he heads over, and the boy just chuckles to himself.

“That’s a hell of an understatement.”

“Suppose it is.” 

They’re quiet for a minute, Yakko deciding to sit next to Arthur on his cot, leaning against him. He’s tired, very tired, only realizing that the second he sat down.

“You alright kid?” Arthur does seem briefly concerned, looking to Yakko.

“I’m fine, jus’ tired I guess.”

“Everyone’s tired. Who knew that mountain could be so drainin’.” Arthur scoffs at that, lighting up a cigarette that he’d taken out from his satchel.

“Why don’t you and I go into town tomorrow? Got some spare change, we can go grab some supplies.” Arthur’s offer caught Yakko off guard for a moment, but he nodded, getting back into civilization excited him.

“Please.”

“It’s settled then.” The outlaw smiles, patting Yakko’s back.

“In that case you ought to get some rest. You need it. Miss Grimshaw set up a little area for you and your sibs jus’ behind me.” She did? That was nice of her. Yakko nods again though, and gets up. Good lord. He was tired. Long day. Long _several_ days, actually. But- it was only late afternoon. Would he get in trouble if he slept this early?

“Am I gonna get in trouble if I sleep this early though?”

“I got you covered, get some sleep boy.” 

  
Admittedly, Yakko did try to sleep. It was on and off, and he’d wake up after a few minutes of thinking he was falling asleep. So, he’d lay awake, presumably late at night, noticing both Wakko and Dot had cuddled up close to him, and that he was sandwiched in between the two of them. He wouldn’t have it any other way. He did glance up though, looking at the night sky, at all the stars. He missed this, seeing all those stars. Stupid mountain was cloudy and you couldn’t see a thing. Plus it was too cold to go out at night anyways. Yakko sighs softly, closing his eyes, trying to fall asleep again. He’s safe. His sibs are safe. The gang’s going to be alright. Yeah. It’ll be fine. Plus he had a day out on the town planned tomorrow with Arthur. The older outlaw always tried keeping the Warners entertained, or at least preoccupied. He would never admit he had a soft spot for these kids, his excuse was that they were all just kids, they deserve to have fun; or something along those lines. Yakko had always been fond of Arthur, seeing as how the man did initially decide to take them in. For what reason, neither of them knew. Then again, it was probably because the Warners had been orphans living on the streets up until Arthur brought them into the gang. And Dutch was all about saving kids and helping them, teaching them his ways. Yakko was very thankful for Arthur coming around when he did, hell, the gang was like a family to the Warners. Well, they _were_ family. The only family the Warners technically had. _We’ll be safe. We’re family, we’ve got each other’s backs_. And with that thought, followed by mostly wholesome ones, Yakko would finally drift back to sleep.

A few weeks go by, and everything’s gone rather smoothly for the gang. Slow at times, but they’re getting on. Wakko’s cold is completely gone now, and he’s back to his normal romping, and chasing chickens around camp. The Warners have a little area by Arthur’s setup, a small tent just behind his wagon, where they usually sleep, if they don’t decide to move their bedrolls under Arthur’s tent. Yakko feels generally better than he did when they first got off the mountain, being able to soak up the sunshine, and go out with Arthur on quick trail rides and hunts. Yakko enjoys every second of those rides, loving being able to ride free throughout the countryside. He’s even begged Arthur to take his sibs out with them, only on trail rides though. Dot would throw a fit if she had to watch her brother kill or skin anything. And truth be told Yakko didn’t blame her. It got gross sometimes.

However, while Yakko and Arthur are out on the trail alone, Arthur decides to stop in town, says he needs to pick up a few things from the store, and Yakko happily tags along with him, because why wouldn’t he. As they ride into town, nothing seems incredibly interesting to Yakko, from an outlaw perspective. Valentine is a livestock town, not much going on besides auctions and the stink of horse shit, amongst other things. Though once they get to the main road, and the general store, something, or rather someone, catches Yakko’s eye. It’s a boy, about his age it seems, dressed in rather spiffy, clean attire. His fur is darker than Yakko’s maybe, white markings, soft blue eyes and a pink little nose, and he seemed rather intrigued by the book he was reading. And Yakko was just as intrigued in him. The boy was seated on a bench, on the porch of the hotel across the street from the general store.

“You’re starin’,” Arthur scoffs, as he dismounts his horse, hitching him to the post outside the store. Yakko quickly averts his attention from the boy, his face warm with embarrassment as he realized that he definitely was staring at the poor boy. He said nothing as he dismounted as well, tying his father’s old horse to the post as well, patting its neck.

“Nothin’ wrong with a little staring,” Yakko retorts, brushing off his shirt, realizing he was dirty and dusty. Then again, most of the townsfolk, even including Arthur, seemed dirty. Everyone seemed dirty, except for that boy by the hotel. He stole one more glance towards the boy, who was still reading. Arthur noticed this, rolled his eyes, and placed his hand on Yakko’s shoulder.

“C’mon, we got work to do.” And he nudges Yakko in the direction of the general store, the younger scowling to himself. Regardless, the two head into the store, Arthur picking up some canned goods, and making little small talk with the owner. Yakko had wandered around the store a tad, taking note of the various things for sale. Canned goods, fresh bread, meats, alcohol even. There were even some clothing and boots on display, nothing eye catching or high quality however. He found himself looking out the window though, trying to see if the boy across the street was still there. Sure enough, he was. Yakko pauses, wondering momentarily what he should do. Perhaps if his sibs were present, they’d encourage him to go talk to this boy. Unfortunately, Yakko was stuck with Arthur, who didn’t seem the type of person to encourage something like that. Arthur wasn’t the romantic type anyways, or, at least that’s how Yakko saw it. The outlaw however glances in Yakko’s direction, sighing once he realizes the boy is _still_ staring.

“Kid jus’ go say somethin’ to ‘im if you’re gonna keep starin’,” Arthur huffs, focusing right back on buying some extra cans of food for camp.

“Wh-”  
“Jus’ go.” That was all Yakko really needed. _Finally_. Yakko shuffles out of the general store, looking to where the boy sat yet again. He hadn’t moved at all, and seemed to still be heavily engrossed in the book he was reading. Yakko started across the street, noticing some more distinct features on the other boy’s face. Softer looking fur, folded ears, delicate looking hands. This boy definitely didn’t belong in some old rinky dink livestock town.

“So what’s a boy like you doin’ in a place like this, huh?” Yakko speaks up, once he’s on the porch of the hotel, and next to the boy. Upon hearing Yakko speak, the boy tenses, looking up from his book for once. He seemed startled, was his book _really_ that interesting?

“I- I beg your pardon?” 

“You look like you belong in a city, not some ol’ stink livestock town,” Yakko hums, eyeing the spot next to the boy. “This seat taken?”

“Be my guest,” the boy replies, perhaps at first he was taken aback by Yakko’s sudden speech, but maybe once he realized that it was a boy his own age talking to him, nonetheless a cute one it seemed, he had relaxed. And Yakko had smiled once he was given permission to sit with this stranger.

“You er- you must be new in town, yes?” The boy asks, now eyeing Yakko once he sits. Seems like they were both rather curious about one another, in their own way.

“What makes ya say that?” Yakko tilts his head a little, amused by the boy’s question. He didn’t stick out nearly as bad as he did, he thought he blended in pretty well. Hm. Though, maybe he was the first dog looking person in town. 

“I just haven’t seen you around before,” the boy says simply, now closing his book, his entire focus on Yakko.

“And if I had, I suppose I’d remember a face like yours.”

“Aw geez, take me out to dinner first.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” He laughed a little, given the way that Yakko spoke had a joking tone. Admittedly, that made the other smile a little wider than it should have.

“I’m only playin’ around with ya, promise.” A brief pause. “What’s your name kid?”

“It’s Oliver. Oliver Holcomb.” 

“Holcomb? Sounds fancy,” Yakko leans back on the bench a little, now looking out into the street.

“And you?”

“Me? I’m Yakko Warner.”

“...Yakko?”

“Yeah. I’m the one who yaks,” he jokes, and Oliver, who seemed just a tad confused, still chuckled at that. It wasn’t even that funny from an outside perspective, just in the moment.

“You’re very strange.”

“I could say the same to you, you had your nose buried in a book til I came over.” Oliver rolls his eyes at that, that little smile still on his face though.

“Was it a good book at least?”

“I suppose. Perhaps not my taste though.” After Oliver speaks, Yakko eyes the cover of the book. Some nonsense titled “The Sign of Four.” Whatever that was.

“I’m more into… well, fantasy type stories. Like the ones with those knights and such, you know?”

“That medieval stuff?”

“Yes, those,” Oliver smiles and nods, glancing down at the book in his lap.

“So, you’re into knights and all that fictional mumbo jumbo.”

“And dime novels. Oh! Especially the western ones.” Western ones huh?

“So, the city boy who reads about knights and outlaws was the one callin’ _me_ strange?” Yakko jokes, now leaning forward a tad, still keeping his eyes glued to Oliver, who again chuckled at his comment. Strangely, he felt his heart flutter at that sound.

“Then I suppose we’re both rather strange, aren’t we?”

“I’d rather be strange than some boring ol’ cowhand.”

“That’s fair,” Oliver replies, shyly glancing to Yakko for a moment. To think, the first civil conversation he’s had with a boy his age in this town, was with an outlaw. And Oliver had no idea.

But before either of them could say anything else, Arthur comes back out of the general store. 

“Kid c’mon, gotta head home,” he calls, motioning for Yakko to come back over as he puts some things in his horse’s saddle bag.

“Coming!” Yakko calls back, standing, before looking back down to Oliver, who would stand up as well. Strangely, he felt compelled to keep in touch with this boy.

“Will I see you around?” 

“Course! You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Yakko turns to Oliver before heading off the porch, winking at him, proceeding to wave goodbye.

“See ya Ollie.” And with that, he was walking back over to Arthur and the horses, mounting up. Oliver had watched him and the older man leave, a smile still on his face. There was something about that boy… He knew he’d see him again, definitely.

“You get that boy's name at least?” Arthur asks once they’re out of town, a peaceful walk back to camp. Yakko perked up once he heard that question.

“I most certainly did.” He puffs his chest out a tad out of pride. For getting the city boy’s name? Shoot.

“And?”

“His name’s Oliver. Oliver Holcomb.”

“Shit, you fallin’ for a regular ol’ city boy.”

“Hey! I’m not falling for anyone! He just looked friendly. And lonely.”

“Uh huh.”

They travel in silence for a few moments, before Arthur speaks up again.

“If you start sneakin’ out to go canoodlin’ with that boy, Dutch ain’t gonna be too happy.”

“I won’t sneak out!”

“I’ll hold ya to that.”

A day or two went by since Yakko had met with that Oliver boy, and of course he’d told his siblings, who made a big deal out of it. Dot teased her older brother with the “Yakko has a boyfriend Yakko has a boyfriend!” nonsense, and Wakko just teased him about cooties. Yakko kept insisting that it “wasn’t like that” despite having a feeling beside himself that pointed to that he maybe _wanted_ it to be like that. Of course, it was way too early to start anything. After all, they had just met.

“So, when are you taking _Oliver_ out on a date?” Dot teases during one of their snack breaks. Yakko just rolled his eyes, not wanting to answer. But- if he didn’t, his sister would only keep pestering him.

“Dot, I told you, we ain’t a thing. We barely know each other.”

“That’s what they all say! And then the next thing you know you guys are gonna be trying to be all lovey dovey in secret!”

“Dot, I’m not dating that boy.”

“So he says,” Dot rolls her eyes, not believing her big brother for a second. Wakko however is more focused on trying to eat his snacks. Sure it was just some canned food and leftover salted meats but still! A snack is a snack and you take what you can get when you’re an outlaw.

“Yakko’s gonna get cooties from the city boy,” He finally says, looking up to his brother, who’s resorted to just holding his face in his hands out of defeat.

“Miss Grimshaw ought to scrub you clean after you’ve been near him.”

“Wakko’s right! Who knows what kinda cooties he has.”

“Sibs come on-” Yakko groans, feeling ever so slightly embarrassed by all the teasing he’s enduring. But he can’t get mad at his sibs. He knows they’re only joking with him anyways. Wakko and Dot just giggle at their brother’s reaction. 

“I think you shoulda robbed him,” Wakko adds, only now finishing his snack. He was used to pick pocketing city folk. It was easy, and rather fun to see what trinkets they would have on them. Good way to earn money too, as long as you weren’t caught.

“We don’t have to rob every person that’s from the city,” Yakko sighs, the thought of robbing Oliver hadn’t even come to mind. He was too focused on talking to the boy anyways. Good lord.

“Boo.” Was his brother’s only response. A part of the older didn’t blame him for that. But still. What an odd chain of events. Yakko not robbing a rich (?) city boy for once. Which, guaranteed, it was out of character for him, seeing as how he’s pickpocketed and robbed a whole bunch of city folk before. But, perhaps this boy was different. He definitely did come across as odd, even for someone as Yakko. He’d never met a boy from the city who was that nice to him. Most of the time it was just boys from the streets, and they always seemed to be in rotten moods- no, they were just pricks. Regardless, Yakko was a tad surprised at himself, the longer he thought about that boy. He was just surprised because he talked _that_ long without being, well, himself. Suppose if Oliver hadn’t been as nice, perhaps Yakko would’ve pestered him into leaving. But no, small talk was made, and they’d have to meet up again. Yakko rather looked forward to it, even if his siblings would relentlessly tease him about it. Which they most certainly will.


	5. Polite Society, Valentine Style

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> more shenanigans in old stinky livestock town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a thing to note, i'll be adding a separate work for side missions that the warners take  
> i'd put them in here as their own chapters but i'd prefer the side missions to just have their own little thing yknow

The following weeks continued as normal as they could for the gang, albeit a bit slowly. Most of the members had been off doing their own thing, earning whatever money they could from maybe a few odd jobs, or just normal outlaw things. Even the Warners had been out earning their keep. Their tactics stayed the same for the most part, annoying the living hell out of random folks, lying and stealing their way out of trouble, it was going well for them. Sure, they didn’t get tons of money from these antics, seeing as how simple country folk never seemed to carry hundreds of dollars on them at a time. Sucked for them but that’s just how it is.

Right now however, the Warner siblings are at camp, Dot chatting with the girls, Yakko and Wakko trying to play a game of dominos. Wakko was the one winning, seeing as how Yakko was trying too hard to come up with a scheme to win. Arthur had just come back from another outing, presumably hunting, given the deer stowed on the back of his horse and the two rabbits attached to the saddle. The stew ought to be good tonight at least. After Arthur had dropped off the animals at Pearson’s wagon, he’d head over towards another wagon, one close by the exit to the camp, empty, no horses attached; with Uncle leaned up against one of the wheels, snoozing away. Arthur had kicked the man awake, scolding him for sleeping “on the job,” if Uncle was even doing something beforehand anyways, which was highly doubtful. 

“Careful not to work yourself to death there Uncle.” Yakko can overhear the conversation between Arthur and Uncle, the older man retorting with ‘I was thinking’. Arthur didn’t take lightly to that, badgering him about Uncle’s “work” ethic was actually just hot garbage. Which it was. Fool never did much, at least that’s how the Warners saw it. And they weren’t terribly interested, until Uncle mentioned something about going into town, which the girls, and Dot had overheard. Arthur just told Uncle to go get the horses ready, which he complained about, but listened regardless.

“If you’re gonna take the old man into town, could you take us too?” Karen leaned up against one of the poles holding up a cloth tarp above their bedrolls, Mary-Beth, Tilly and Dot close behind her. 

“Why, what you got planned?” Arthur had lit up a cigarette as the girls walked over.

“Nothin’, we’ll find somethin’ for y’all to do, we always do,” Karen replies, heading over to the other outlaw and the wagon, the girls following her close behind.

“We’re bored out of our minds, been cooped up here for two weeks now. Karen’s about ready to murder Grimshaw,” Mary-Beth says, the blonde glancing back in her direction only to roll her eyes.

“Well can Miss Grimshaw spare you?”

“‘Can Miss Grimshaw spare you?’,” Karen mocks, her hands on her hips.

“Please Arthur? We’ll be extra good!” Dot clings to the outlaw’s leg, giving him her best puppy eyes. Arthur can’t exactly say no to that. He’s never been able to. Except maybe when the Warners had first joined the gang but that’s besides the point. The older man just sighs, and gestures towards the wagon.

“Alright, c’mon girls.” Dot and the girls smile cheering amongst themselves as they get into the wagon. Lucky for them Uncle was just about done getting the horses all tacked up.

Yakko meanwhile had perked up once he heard the girls and Arthur talking. Going into town again? Wakko just sighs, he knows exactly what his brother’s thinking about.

“You don’t seriously want to go to town _again_ do you?” And they were just getting to a good part of their game!

“No- well- yeah, but-” Yakko stutters, fumbling with the dominos in his hand. “Just been cooped up here for a day or two now and-”

“You just wanna see that boy again,” Wakko rolls his eyes, he knows his brother’s been itching to see that boy again, he’s not stupid.

“I do _not_ -”

“You totally do. You haven’t been able to stop thinking about him for _weeks._ ”

“He’s just- just-”

“Exactly your type?”

Yakko groans, hiding his face in his hands. Suppose he had been thinking about that boy from Valentine. He was friendly, arguably the friendliest face he’s met outside of camp. And besides their first meeting, they’d only met two other times. Short exchanges maybe, since Yakko had been looking for leads for jobs at that time, but they were always pleasant.

“I can’t believe you let that city boy give you cooties.”

“Wakko, he doesn’t have cooties.”

“Says you.” 

“Wakko quit pesterin’ your brother,” Arthur calls from besides the wagon, making sure the horses are harnessed properly. He leans against the front wheel, looking at the two brothers.

“Why don’t you two come along?”

“Yeah come with us!” Dot shouts from the wagon, looking to her brothers excitedly. And then an idea popped into her head.

“You can introduce us to that city boy you’ve been talking about!” Of course she’d suggest that. Hopefully maybe Oliver wouldn’t be around today so that he could avoid his siblings doing anything… embarrassing? It seemed mean but it was the right word.

“If he’s around,” Yakko grumbles, heading over to the wagon, hoisting himself up, sitting at the back besides Mary-Beth. Wakko climbed in right after his brother, deciding to just sit in his lap instead of on the seat. At least Yakko hadn’t minded. A second or so passed, Arthur and Uncle climbing up in the driver’s seat, getting ready to head out.

“Can’t believe we’re going to see civilization, feels like weeks since we did.” The girls were excited about this at least.

“Yeah, Valentine, the very embodiment of civilization,” Uncle chuckles to himself. “You ladies are gonna love it.” Had he forgotten Yakko and Wakko were also tagging along? Perhaps. 

The ride to town didn’t take very long, longer though than just being on horseback. It hadn’t been very eventful either, though the girls, with the addition of Yakko had sung some made up song per Uncle’s request. Something about a girl from Berryville. Even Arthur seemed to hum along at times. 

They’d reach the train tracks leading into town, not before seeing a coach not doing a very good job at staying on the road. 

“I think that guy needs to get his stagecoach license removed,” Dot comments, not being able to take her eyes off the out of control coach.

“With the way he’s driving I doubt he had one to begin with,” Yakko scoffs, covering his mouth to hide a snort of laughter when the coach swerved, the two horses breaking off from their harness.

“Is one of you gonna get that fella’s horse?” Tilly asks, looking to Arthur and Uncle, Arthur looking like he was debating on robbing the coach driver.

“Oh, I got lumbago, it’s very serious!” Uncle shakes his head no, very adamant about not wanting to do any actual work.

“Is lumbago a real thing?” Wakko whispers to his brother, Yakko just shrugging at the question.

“It’s Uncle’s way of saying he doesn’t want to do any work.”

“I heard that.”

“Good.”

Arthur dismounted the wagon after Uncle spoke, heading over to see if the coach driver needed any help in the first place.

“Damn, wasn’t expectin’ him to go and help,” Karen says, leaning back slightly as she kept an eye on Arthur.

“He should rob him,” Wakko adds, and Yakko gently nudges his sib in the side.

“Don’t say that so loud,” Yakko scolds in a hushed whisper, Wakko pouting at his brother’s words.

The Warners and the girls, including Uncle, proceeded to watch Arthur head over to the horse that had decided to run off, thankfully not very far. Just by some brush and trees on the other side of the tracks. And unsurprisingly, Arthur was able to calm the horse down almost instantly. The man always had a way with horses, which was odd, considering a lot of things. Dot and Wakko had been rather confused the first time they saw Arthur talking to his horse like it was an actual person. They even teased him about it a little. Once Arthur had started leading the horse back-

“You got it!”

“Well done Arthur!”

The girls had called out from the wagon, Dot even clapping her hands together to make more of a big deal out of something small. Arthur just rolled his eyes as he led the horse back, handing her off back to the coach driver.

“You’re a gentleman sir, a gentleman!” The driver says, as the outlaw headed back to the wagon.

“Nah, not really… Jus’, tryin’ to impress the women.”

The driver laughed at that. “Well, anyway, thank you.” 

Once Arthur was back in the driver’s seat, Uncle would nudge his shoulder playfully.

“C’mon, let’s go!” The older man urged, Arthur starting to get the wagon moving again.

“To Valentine!”

The ride continued in silence for a moment, before Uncle would speak again. “You’re turning into a regular old fairy godmother there, Arthur.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you got a heart! A small one perhaps, hidden deep inside, but a real one,” Mary-Beth speaks up, Dot even nodding in agreement with her words.

“Arthur’s gonna turn into a big softie one day,” Dot continues, she couldn’t see but Arthur did seem slightly annoyed. He’s just in denial about the possibility of actually being a good person. The Warners thought Arthur was pretty good. He’d been the one to really teach them a lot of outlaw things. Not to mention Arthur gave them money when they still lived on the streets that one time.

“Well, Arthur I’m proud of you,” Tilly glances to Arthur, smiling. 

“To be honest, if you lot hadn’t been here I probably woulda robbed him.” But of course that had been Arthur’s response. Dot groaned at that. The other girls, even Yakko and Wakko had chuckled at it.

“Well, you didn’t!” Mary-Beth countered, though she wondered if that’s exactly what Arthur would’ve done. Who knows, maybe deep down like she said, maybe he is a good man. Perhaps he has to just look a little harder inside himself, or some philosophical bullshit. 

More banter would’ve been had, if it weren’t for them getting closer to town. Arthur shushes the girls, Uncle, and the Warners. The last thing they need is for anyone to overhear any outlaw related things. Maybe strangers wouldn’t pay any mind, but still. Making their way through the town, the girls make comments here and there, mostly about the smell from the sheep. Well, Valentine _is_ a livestock town. It’s bound to smell like… well, shit, to put it simply. It’s not the most pleasant smell, Dot scrunching up her nose when they go pass the auction yard and stables.

“This place smells worse than that o’Driscoll boy,” Dot whines, her brothers snickering at that.

“You sure it’s the sheep we smell? Could just be Uncle,” Yakko’s snarky tone earns him a side-eyed glare from the older man.

“Very funny.”  
“Thanks! I’m doing my best.”

The ride of course continued with more small talk between the girls, commenting on various aspects of the town, even pointing out all the snow still visible in the mountains. They’re all rather glad that they finally got off that godforsaken mountain. Yakko hopes they’d never have to stay up there that long ever again. Once they turn down the main street, Yakko’s instantly looking around for that city boy again. No sign of him, at least not yet. He sighs, taking note of the other buildings.

“Sheriff’s office on yer right. Sure you can pick up some bounties there, Arthur,” Uncle nudges Arthur as the wagon rides past the sheriff’s, Yakko taking note of that as well. 

“Heaven forbid you put _your_ head on the line.”

“That’s a young man’s game.”

Bounties, huh? He might only be eighteen, sure, but if it was a way to earn money, who cares what work it was? Unless if it was killing without a reason. Though, Yakko doubts that he’d ever kill _for_ a reason anyways. He was an outlaw, yet he hadn’t killed anyone. Or has he? Probably not. It wasn’t like him in any case. 

The ride down the main street continued, until they came to a stop at the end of the street, between the stable and some unfinished building. Everyone had gotten off the wagon, the girls saying they were off to find work, Arthur warning them to stay out of trouble. Which left him, Uncle, and the Warners by the wagon. Uncle said he needed to head to the general store, pick some things up. Arthur would tag along with him, but before he did that, he’d look to the Warners.

“You three find somethin’ to do, alright? Jus’ stay outta trouble.”

“Roger that.” Yakko nods intently, smiling up at Arthur. Of course he could stay out of trouble. But Arthur doesn’t need to know about any trouble, if it were to happen.

“You heard the man sibs, no trouble.”

“Got it.” Wakko and Dot speak in unison, nodding. Somehow Arthur seemed to not believe them.

“Yakko, I mean it. No funny business. I ain’t wanna bust you or your sibs outta jail.”

“Aw c’mon Artie, you don’t trust us?”

“Don’t call me Artie.” Arthur makes a face at the nickname, and he looks rather stern.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, I jus’ want you stayin’ safe.” Yakko’s smile faltered, turning into a pout at Arthur’s instruction. He knew he was just looking out for them, but still. What’s having some fun if you don’t get into a little trouble? It’s just how the Warners worked.

“We’ll try,” Yakko says anyways, knowing that at least would hold Arthur over.

“Good. Now you run along. See if you can find anything out, ‘bout any jobs. Meet us back at the general store later.” And with that, Arthur and Uncle would head up the steps of the porch, going to the general store. Which left the Warners alone by the wagon.

“...So what are we gonna do?” Dot asks, looking to Yakko for an answer. Truth be told he had no idea. But…

“Arthur said we should find somethin’ about jobs so…”

“Oh, like places to rob?” Wakko asks, his tone a bit too loud for speaking about robberies. Both Yakko and Dot hushed him quickly, Dot even slapping her hand over her brother’s mouth.

“Quiet!” Yakko hisses, glancing around, hoping no one heard that. Thankfully, no one did, but a man by the stable gave them an odd look, seeing as how Dot’s hand still covered Wakko’s mouth.

“...And yeah, that’s what he meant. Or just- y’know, ways to earn money. We need a good lead, something that’ll get us a decent chunk of change.”

“How are we gonna do that? Listen in on town gossip?” 

“Precisely.” 

Listening in on stranger’s conversations was definitely… interesting. Some things the Warners wished they hadn’t heard. Perhaps going to the saloon to eavesdrop wasn’t the best idea; but, it had been where the other girls went. Well, Yakko had gone to the saloon. His sibs stayed outside, sitting on the porch, watching everyone riding by, even waving to the occasional passerby. Yakko however, wasn’t the most comfortable in the saloon. Lots of drunken bastards, and it was only noon. _Do these guys seriously have nothing better to do than drink?_ Yakko makes a face at one of the patrons, bottle in hand and leaning up against one of the support beams, eyes on the floor. _Idiot._

“Anything I can get you anything sir?” Yakko had accidentally wandered too close to the bar, getting the attention of the bartender. He was an older man, older than Yakko by far.

“Nah, I’m not much of a drinker,” Yakko hopes that’ll make the barkeep leave him alone. And it does, for a second or so.

“If drinks ain’t your fancy we got some food if you’re interested. Got some salted meat in from the butcher earlier.” Food definitely sounded better than some boring old whiskey. Plus, Yakko had some spare change on him, still leftover from the Cornwall train.

“I’ll bite,” he’d reach into his satchel, similar to the one that Arthur carried, though Yakko’s was a tad more beaten up, and had been crafted with furs. At least a piece of salted meat didn’t cost all that much. Plus, if he had something to eat, perhaps he wouldn’t look as suspicious while he eavesdropped. Which, speaking of-

“You hear about that house up in the Grizzlies?”

“The one with all them hillbillies?”

“Yeah, they ain’t right, those fools. Somethin’ crooked ‘bout ‘em all.”

“You think they sittin’ on a lot of cash or somethin’?”

“Maybe. Heard they was highway robbers or somethin’. Maybe. Dunno.”

The banter from two patrons had caught Yakko’s attention. Anything involving money got his attention but _hillbillies?_ That’s definitely something he and his sibs could have fun with.

“Whatcha talkin’ about fellas?” Yakko impulsively made his way over to the two strangers, who were no doubt drunk. 

“Who the hell are you?”

“Doesn’t matter, what were you sayin’ about that house?”

“I ain’t say nothin’ ‘bout any house.”

“Oh you most certainly did my friend,” Yakko nods his head, tapping his foot on the floor. Time to work up a lie.

“See, my sibs and I got robbed a few days back, up in the Grizzlies, and it _sounds_ like the culprits could be from this house you guys were talkin’ about. So if you could be so kind to tell me where these lowdowns are hiding, I would be _very_ grateful.” Yakko pauses at the end of his lie, he knows he sold it, drunk people are great for lying to. Especially when they’re two dumb cowpokes who looks like they spend too much time out in the mud.

“Shit, alright.” The first stranger mumbles, maybe he’s even more gullible than Yakko thinks he is.

“It’s this ranch, up in the Grizzlies, hidden by a bunch of trees. You wanna follow the road by Granite Pass.”

“Thanks mister! You did me a big favor!” Yakko smiles, before basically just running out of the saloon, back to his sibs. Dot nearly jumped when her brother came almost barreling out the door.

“You better not have got into a fight-”

“No! Nothin’ like that, think I got something.”

“Well, what?-”

“I’ll tell you later,” Yakko shushes his sister, and straightens himself up, glancing to the general store. Arthur and Uncle were sitting on the bench on the porch there, and they both looked like they were napping. 

“C’mon, lets bother Artie and big stink again.”

“Uncle?”

“Same thing.”

No sooner after that exchange, the Warners had gone back over to Arthur and Uncle, pestering Uncle incessantly, as they do. And Yakko was just about to bring up his lead, when Mary-Beth came over, looking rather excited about something.

“Gentlemen, I think I got something good.” Arthur and Uncle perked up, as well as the Warner. “I snuck into this fancy house, and acted like a servant girl, usually works. Someone was saying her sister was taking a trip, from New York or some place. Train _full_ of rich tourists heading to Saint Denis and then cruising off to Brazil.”

“Okay-”

“A _train_ laden with baggage and passing through a bit of deserted country at _night_ , as to go to the docks in time for the tides. In some place called, Scarlett Meadows.” That last part really got Uncle’s attention.

“Yeah, I know it. Yeah, yeah, it’s right out near New Hanover. Right, it’s real quiet out there.”

“Sounds good,” Arthur nods, considering that heavily it seemed. And then a different thought occupied his mind.

“Where’s Tilly and Karen?”

“I think at the hotel. They were picking up some drunen fellas that they was gonna rob.”

“Why?”

“It seemed easy. They have been gone for quite a while…”

“I guess I’ll go see if there’s any trouble,” Arthur stands, glancing at the Warners. 

“You three stay outta trouble?”

“Yeah but it was boring,” Wakko responds first, he does look a little bored. Very bored actually. He was waiting on the porch of the saloon for a while though, so it’s a valid claim. Dot looked just as bored. Though, once Arthur started heading off the porch, Mary-Beth would spot Tilly.

“Oh, there’s Tilly over there!” A pause, as she watched the girl get tugged to the alleyway between the hotel and the bank. “...That does not look ideal.”

“Excuse me,” Arthur grumbled, going to investigate the situation. Yakko tugged both of his sibs closer, just in case something were to happen. He hoped Tilly was okay at least. And sure enough, a moment later, Tilly was walking quickly over to the general store, she did look rather frightened. 

“What was that about?” Mary-Beth was the first to ask, concerned for her friend’s wellbeing.

“Nothin’- it’s fine.” Whatever happened, Tilly hadn’t wanted to talk about it. No one pushed her into it. Were they due for a subject change? Perhaps.

“Do you know where Karen went?”

“Hotel. She picked up some drunk fool from the saloon, said she was gonna rob him.”

And Arthur was heading into the hotel too, now that Yakko noticed. Arthur’s just checking up on everyone today, wasn’t he?

“Find anything interesting by the way?” Mary-Beth tried for another subject change, and this time, Dot perked up.

“We got one! Yakko tell ‘em!” He hadn’t expected his sister to jump into that so quickly.

“Nothing concrete but, some fellas were talking about some house that might have some sort of stash I think.”

“You think?”

“Well the guys weren’t very upfront with it. But it _sounded_ like it could be interesting.”

“Might as well take a look later,” Mary-Beth hums, looking at Tilly. “What about you?”

“Something about the doctor’s office,” Tilly lowers her voice a tad, seeing as how a rider or two had gone past. “Not sure what it is but something’s _definitely_ going on in there.” Yakko could hazard several guesses about what could be going on in there, perhaps just the average run of the mill illicit side business. Something illegal.

More small talk was had about what they all found out, Mary-Beth saying that this train she heard about would definitely be a decent score. And if done right, yeah, robbing a train full of rich snooty tourists would definitely have a good pay-grade. Yakko didn’t know how exactly they’d pull it off, but perhaps an idea would spring at some point.

The conversation would’ve continued, had it not been for Karen and Arthur coming out from the hotel; and Karen looked as if she’d been in a fight. As the two of them walked over, the others would make their way back to the wagon, meeting Karen and Arthur halfway.

“You okay?” Tilly asks, noticing the bruise on Karen’s face, which she’d kept a hand on to cover it up.

“Sure, he only punched me. Arthur punched him a lot harder,” Karen replied, rubbing her jaw carefully, wincing as she did so. 

“Hey- who’s that guy over there lookin’ at us?” Mary-Beth made a glance or two towards a well dressed man atop a horse, staring at them from across the street. He seemed to be rather suspicious of the group, or, he recognized them from somewhere.

“Weren’t you in Blackwater a few weeks back?” The man asks, and Yakko feels a small chill go down his spine. Even Wakko and Dot get nervous, but they don’t move from their current positions. They don’t want to give themselves away.

“Me?” Arthur looks from the group, back to the man quickly. “No sir. Ain’t from there.”

“Oh you were. Well I definitely saw you, with a bunch of fellas.”

“Me? No. Impossible.” Arthur started walking towards the man. “Listen, buddy. Come here for a minute.” The man on the horse though, tugged on the reins, his horse rearing, before taking off down the street. Yakko could only assume he was scared that Arthur was going to hurt him. The outlaw groans when the man takes off, looking back to the group. 

“I don’t like this.”

“Me neither.”

“Go, get the girls and kids home.” Arthur mounts up on a hitched horse. “I’m gonna go have a word with our friend.”

“Be careful Arthur.”

“But beat him if he says anything stupid,” Yakko says, his sibs nodding in agreement. Arthur scoffs, and without another word, he’s taking off after the man from Blackwater.

“... Do you think that guy actually saw us in Blackwater?” Dot asks, gently tugging Yakko’s arm to get him to look at her. In truth, Yakko wouldn’t doubt if he _had_ seen them in Blackwater. It wasn’t entirely impossible, but, still. There were a lot of people running around and such during the ferry job.

“Maybe, I dunno.” Yakko admits, and he follows the girls to the wagon, hoisting themselves up and taking their seats again. Wakko sat back in his brother’s lap again, though was staring at Arthur who was chasing the man still. They’d even left the town, heading a slight right, towards the road to West Elizabeth.

“I bet Arthur’s gonna catch that guy and beat him up,” Wakko muses to himself, holding onto his brother once the wagon started moving. Uncle wasn’t the best driver and had probably made the horses go too fast at first, only slowing them to a trot a second later.

“Or he’ll just have a talk with him,” Mary-Beth suggests, frowning at Wakko’s suggestion.

“Yeah but Arthur’s better at beating people up.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

The rest of the ride back to camp was mostly quiet, and they hadn’t seen Arthur coming back. Perhaps he had other matters to attend to. Yakko remembered hearing Hosea saying something about the Reverend, and that Charles, Javier and Bill were heading out to town today. Odd that they hadn’t run into them. But maybe they were waiting for them to get back? No clue. Then- he hadn't seen those three, let alone the Reverend when they'd got back to camp. Yakko just hoped that Arthur would be able to pull something off with that man, maybe throw him off from his assumptions about them being in Blackwater. He hoped so.

Yakko was hoping Arthur would’ve come back maybe a few minutes after they arrived back at camp, but, there was no sign of the outlaw whatsoever. 

“Where do you think Arthur went?” 

“Maybe he’s just out hunting,” Dot suggests, crossing one leg over the other. She was sat atop one of the bigger rocks by the horses, Wakko trying to draw in the dirt with a stick he’d found.

“Or he’s still in town.” That was definitely a possibility. But still. Maybe he was just overthinking, he just didn’t want anything bad happening to Arthur. 

“Yakko quit worrying,” Dot frowns, nudging the back of her brother’s leg with her foot. He nearly stumbled, given he was standing right next to her. The older just rolled his eyes. Working around camp would probably get his mind off the whole ordeal.

“I’m gonna get some work done, you two should too.”

Both Wakko and Dot groan, Wakko dropping his stick in frustration. Of course Yakko’s putting them to work.

“But Yakko-”

“Would you rather Miss Grimshaw put you to work?” That shut them up.

“Now go on, see if Pearson or anyone needs help.” His younger siblings pout, but they head over to Pearson’s wagon, either with the intent to help, or just pester him needlessly. Yakko watches his sibs march off, then heads off to get some work done himself. The fires needed more wood, and the horses needed to be fed anyways. Might as well distract himself with that until Arthur came back.

Time seemed to drag on slowly, even if the Warners were busy with chores. Dot had been put to work with Sadie as instructed by Pearson, cleaning up some dishes from the night prior. While Wakko on the other hand, was trying to cut up some meat, under Pearson’s watchful eye. It’s very stressful trying to teach a fourteen year old dog boy to cut meat when all he was thinking about was eating it, even if it was raw. Then again, Wakko would eat mostly anything. Yakko on the other hand, had just taken to chopping wood, along with feeding and grooming the horses. He had even snuck an extra carrot to feed to his own horse, a chestnut stallion that he renamed to William. Only because he thought it had sounded funny. And William was a funny name for a horse. Yakko was just about to go check up on his sibs, when Arthur came back; though his clothes were caked in mud, and he had a rather sizable bruise on his face. Not to mention he was on a different horse. Some run of the mill morgan maybe.

“Jeez, what happened to you?”

“Bar fight,” Arthur grumbled, dismounting the horse, hitching it next to his own horse, who seemed rather curious about this newcomer. He’d rub his jaw, grunting. He did look like he got pretty beaten up, not to mention his knuckles were red too.

“Didja win?”

“Beat the bastard to the ground, so, yeah, I won.” Arthur starts walking to his tent, Yakko following him.

“You gonna change your clothes? No offense but you smell like ass.”

“Thanks for the observation kid.”

“No problem old man.” Arthur chuckles, but once he gets to his tent, he shoos Yakko away. He’s gotta get this mud soaked clothes off and he’d prefer if this dog child did not witness a thing. And then he remembered something very important.

“You go get ready to mount up by the way, somethin’ you and I gotta take a look at.”

“What’s that?”

“Met Trelawny in town, he said Sean’s alive and in Blackwater.”

“We’re going back there?” Yakko didn’t want to go back to Blackwater. Personally, he didn’t want to get shot up full of bullets.

“No- no we ain’t goin’ in town. Charles and Javier are scoutin’ a good distance away, and Treleawny’s gonna help us find Sean.”

“So we’re goin’ on a rescue mission?”

“Once I get outta these clothes, yes. Now shoo, go get your horse ready.” Yakko just nods at that, and heads off back to the horses. He did let his mind wander, as he saddled his horse back up. How exactly were they going to rescue Sean? And what exactly was the plan here? If there was one at least. Yakko barely knew anything about Trelawny, despite him being in the gang for four years. He knew he was a conman, a magician, and generally just… weird. Weird for the Warners. There was just something weird about the man. But aside from that, Yakko really hoped they could get Sean out of Blackwater. They got along well, before the ferry incident, given the two of them were both wise-cracking pranksters. Hopefully, if they did this right, Sean would be back with the gang. That’ll be a good thing, one of the better things that happened in the recent weeks, besides getting off that mountain.

“Hey! Where are you goin’?” Dot had spotted her brother getting his horse ready, and dropped what she was doing, which was just making some conversation with Sadie. But seeing her brother looking like he was leaving? That got her attention. Wakko’s too.

“Can we come?” Wakko followed behind Dot closely. As his siblings drew closer Yakko had a brief moment of panic, wondering if he could make up a quick lie to see if he could think of something that his sibs wouldn’t want any part in.

“Nah, you wouldn’t want to. Arthur and I are just scoutin’ and makin’ sure there’s no trouble near here.”

“Oh boo.” Wakko frowns, he hoped that something interesting would be happening. Well. Maybe there’s another thing around camp to do.

“C’mon Dot,” Wakko tugs on his sister’s arm gently. Perhaps they can go bother Uncle Dutch.

“Yakko bring me back something cute!” Dot calls, before following her brother to Dutch’s tent. Yakko makes a mental note of his sister’s request. He wasn’t sure if she meant it literally, but maybe he’d find something to give to his little sister. He’ll find something. And a few moments of just checking to make sure that his horse was all tacked up, Arthur would walk back over, with fresh clothes.

“Got all the horse shit off you?” Yakko asks, untethering his horse from the hitching post. Arthur just makes a face.

“For the most part. Now c’mon, mount up. We got an Irish bastard to rescue.”


	6. The First Shall be the Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yakko and Arthur head out to rescue Sean from Blackwater

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry chapter updates r spaced out now its hard 2 focus on writing sometimes lol  
> but enjoy chapter 6 anyways

“So do we have a plan for rescuing Sean or are we just gonna go in there guns blazing and hope for the best?” Yakko’s question caught Arthur off guard, the older outlaw sighing. Did he have a plan? No. He didn’t know what the exact situation in Blackwater even was.

“I don’t know, we’ll have to wait and see what it looks like in Blackwater.”

“What if it’s bad? What do we do?”

“No idea. I said we’ll see when we get there.” Yakko frowns a little at that, but keeps riding alongside Arthur regardless. Again he’d let his mind wander, wondering just what Blackwater was like right now. Probably a mess still. How long had it been? A few weeks? It felt longer than that, with the way things had been going for the gang. He just hoped Sean was okay. 

“... Can I ask what you heard from Trelawny?”

“Jus’ that he heard that Sean was bein’ held by some bounty hunters. Tryna see how much money the fool’s worth.” 

“How much you think he’s worth?”

“Enough to drown yourself in whiskey to forget you ever met the bastard.” Yakko laughs at that, even if he’s good friends with Sean, he still gets it. That man had his moments where he was absolutely unbearable, but he was… well, Sean was definitely a character. Yakko can only imagine the absolute hell that man’s giving the bounty hunters. As he should.

The two continued their ride, heading towards West Elizabeth. Yakko had only been here once or twice, either for a hunting trip, or to rob some stagecoach with the gang. He’d never crossed the river separating West Elizabeth from New Hanover though, until this moment of course. Then again, he’d never been to this crossing, with the train tracks high above the river. Hell, a train even went by when they’d started crossing, the whistle sounding halfway across the tracks.

The horses slowed once they went into the water, the less splashing the better. Though, Arthur stopped, on one of the banks in the middle of the river, surveying the land in front of them.

“What’s wrong?” Yakko stopped his own horse next to the outlaw, stealing quick glances to the forested side of the river. Nothing out of the ordinary, other than some deer making a run for it and some ducks taking off from the water. 

“Nothin’, jus thinkin’ about how we should go about this.” 

“Why? There aren’t any bounty hunters this side of the river are there?”

“Not sure,” Arthur squints, then eyes the shoreline. Riding along the shoreline ought to be safe, if there _were_ any bounty hunters about.

“We’ll walk the shoreline, just in case. Ought to keep us outta sight anyways.” Arthur nudges his horse’s side, trotting across the river, Yakko following. 

The shoreline itself is rocky, sandy, and damp. And boring. Not much to take note of, besides maybe some driftwood that washed up from the water. Any animals that had been drinking from the river had run off upon seeing the two outlaws and their horses. At least there weren’t bounty hunters. Yakko would prefer the occasional deer running away from them as opposed to some stupid bounty hunters.

“Hey, whatever happened to that guy that you chased out of town today?” Yakko had just remembered that fact, he’d been meaning to ask but had forgotten seemingly the second they rode out of camp.

“That fool?” Arthur scoffs, rubbing the back of his neck as they continued down the shoreline. “Nothin’ interestin’. Besides the idiot almost fallin’ off a cliff.”

“Did you push him off?”

“Nah. Threatened to kill ‘im though, that got ‘im to keep his mouth shut.” That usually always works in Arthur’s favor. Yakko had only seen him get like that a few handful of times, but every time he _did_ see Arthur threaten somebody’s life, it was always a little… How would you say it, scary? Maybe. Sure Arthur was an outlaw, hell, he’s always been an outlaw, but Yakko had been exposed to the softer side of Arthur, if you could call it soft. Over the years, Yakko had really only noticed that Arthur seemed to be softer with Jack, Wakko and Dot, seeing as how they were the youngest members of the gang; and maybe didn’t have much of an idea about what was going on in the real world. At least Jack didn’t. Wakko and Dot had vague ideas, and they knew how much trouble the gang had gotten into in Blackwater; though, Yakko supposes that this sibs think that it’ll all blow over at some point. Hopefully it will.

The two continue their ride on the shoreline, not before making their way to the part of the river that separated them from Great Plains. Arthur stops again, surveying the area. Yakko can only assume he’s keeping an eye out for any bounty hunters. Or any other possible threats. Yakko didn’t blame him, it’s dangerous over this way, at least for the gang. 

“C’mon, we’ll cross here and head up that slope,” Arthur nudges his horse forward, crossing the river. Yakko has no choice but to follow, keeping his ears perked. The only thing he could hear was the chirping of crickets, and the water from the river. Not to mention the horses splashing through the water, but that was a given.

The two head up the slope that Arthur scoped out, both of them hunching over a tad to further avoid immediate attention. They stopped, just before they got further up, Arthur continuing to look around. Perhaps he was stopping to look so much because Yakko was with him. But, Yakko thought he’d be able to handle himself just fine if they ran into bounty hunters. He was quick, sure he never really shot to kill, but if it were necessary, he’d do what he’d have to do.

“C’mon, stay quiet,” Arthur’s voice drops to a whisper, and he slowly makes his way further, still looking around. Now he had to be looking for Charles and Javier, who he mentioned earlier when the ride first started. Said they were already here, scoping the place out.

Not before long he’d spot a small campfire, with Charles and Javier’s horses close by. Well, at least they didn’t have to look that long. The two of them dismounted, leaving their horses by the other two, carefully making their way to Charles and Javier who were on the ground, scoping out Blackwater with a pair of binoculars.

“How many?”

“A lot. Uniforms everywhere.”

“You see Sean?”

“... No, I don’t think so.”

“Dammit. Where’s Trelawny?”

“Who knows.” 

As Charles and Javier have their little conversation, Arthur would lower himself to the ground as he got closer, sandwiching himself between the other two outlaws. Yakko followed suit, though got himself situated besides Charles, taking a moment to look at the town below. It was bustling, from what he could see, bustling of government agents and bounty hunters probably. It’d be suicide to go in there now.

“Where is that little Irish bastard?” Arthur’s tone is quiet, loud enough to be heard of course, but still.

“I’m not quite sure.” Charles is still surveying the town with the binoculars. “Treleawny’s off trying to find out.”

“Anyone been into Blackwater to see how things lie?”

“Place is crawling with Pinkertons, bounty hunters, pictures of Hosea and Dutch.” Arthur scowled at Javier’s answer. He figured that’s what the damage was, but it still disappointed him in a way for his suspicions to be confirmed.

“We got a lot of money sittin’ in that town.”

“And that’s where it’s gonna remain, for now.” 

Yakko scrunches his nose up at that. Were they just going to leave all that money there then? With the way things seemed to be going, it didn’t seem like they’d ever get the chance to sneak back into Blackwater, not unless they conjured up some sort of disguise; or sent someone to go get it. Maybe he’d bring the sending someone to go get it idea up to Dutch. Someone who wasn’t a target. Or send someone who was a new recruit; like that Sadie woman. Or Dot and Wakko even. Sure, his sibs had been in Blackwater before, but never really with Arthur or Hosea, anyone like that. But, even if they had been seen in Blackwater with the gang, what would government agents do to two little kids? Hopefully nothing bad, or Yakko would have to kill someone.

“Gentlemen.” Trelawny’s sudden voice spooked Yakko, his tail poofing out on instinct. “Sean is being moved up the Upper Montana, then to a federal prison out west.” Trelawny’s report got everyone groaning, Charles even just putting his face in his hands.

“Well we can’t be rescuing people from some federal prison. We either rescue him now or… cut him loose.”

“We’re not cuttin’ anyone loose,” Charles argues, and Yakko agrees with him, nodding his head. Sean’s his friend, one of the only gang members that doesn’t get all too annoyed with him and his sibs.

“Of course not.”

“Ike Skelding’s boys are moving him to a camp nearby, before handing him over to the government.” Trelawny should’ve said that first. Yakko thinks for a moment, wondering what exactly they were going to do.

“Are we gonna go after them then?” Yakko has to ask, and Arthur nods his head.

“We need to stop them before they get to camp,” Arthur shifts, looking at Charles, pointing to the mountains and cliffs on the other side of the river.

“Charles, Yakko, why don’t you two head up on the north side, and then we’ll head up on the other side of the valley and meet you, that way we have them either direction.” While Arthur speaks, Charles starts getting up, Yakko falters for a moment before following Charles. He’s never been with Charles by himself, not that he didn’t trust him, it’s just that he wanted to make somewhat of a good impression. He liked Charles, and he didn’t want to make too much of a fool of himself in a situation as serious as this. Charles motioned Yakko to follow him, and mounting up on his horse.

The ride is initially quiet, Yakko taking note of the setting sun. It did take a while for him and Arthur to even get over here, he wasn’t surprised that the sun was starting to set. Charles hadn’t spoken much either, Yakko had found that fact ever so slightly intimidating. Not so much that he couldn’t whip up a conversation though.

“So, weather’s nice down this way,” Yakko tried, looking at Charles, who only glanced back for a moment. 

“I suppose.”

More silence after that. Yakko made a face, he knew he was going to have to carry the conversation anyways. Charles wasn’t much of a talker on missions. Time for phase two.

“What’re we gonna do when we reach the north side?”

“Wait for Arthur and Javier, we’ll move when they move.” 

“What if we run into bounty hunters?”

“We’ll take care of them.”

Yakko knew he’d say that. Did Charles know that he’s never killed a man before? He wasn’t sure. Maybe. He was there at that Cornwall train robbery, but then again, it’s not like they were fighting close to each other; and he doubted Charles was checking up on him like Arthur did sometimes during gunfights. 

“You look troubled,” Charles stops for a brief moment, looking back at Yakko, who pauses in his tracks. He noticed? Shit.

“I just uh… Well, about the bounty hunters and like, _taking care of them_ -” Yakko stops himself for a minute, and Charles just looks the slightest bit perplexed. 

“I’ve never killed anybody before,” Yakko admits, glancing away from the other outlaw out of shame. Was that the right word? He wasn’t sure. 

“An outlaw who’s never killed before?”

“I know, it’s stupid.” 

Charles was quiet for a brief moment, maybe just wondering what to say. Everyone in the gang might’ve killed at some point, if he wasn’t mistaken. Maybe except for the Warners though, with this new information.

“Every time we get into a gun fight I just- I shoot but not somewhere that’ll kill them outright. Like in the arm or the leg, something like that.”

“Then I suppose as long as someone finishes the job, you have nothing to worry about,” Charles nudges his horse forward again, Yakko following.

“Just do what you always do if we run into trouble. I’ll handle the rest.” Yakko was somewhat relieved that Charles wouldn’t force him into killing. He wasn’t like that. Besides, Charles didn’t seem like the kind of person to kill on a whim. Not that the rest of the gang killed on a whim, it’s just that their rules for killing and shooting seemed… different. Arthur for example would shoot to kill anyone who tried to shoot him, and Arthur was a good shot. Perhaps sometimes he seemed to pull the trigger on an impulse. Though, with Charles, he seemed to only shoot and kill when need be. Not because of some petty argument or something like that.

While Yakko occupied himself with his own thoughts, he and Charles would continue the ride north, where Arthur instructed them to go. They’d leave the horses by some trees, hidden enough so no one would really be able to tell where they were. The two dismounted, walking along the cliffside, Charles eyeing the river below.

“Do you see the others?” Yakko piped up, sticking to Charles’ side, the side that _didn’t_ overlook the cliffside. 

“They’re riding the trail,” Charles nods downwards, and with a glance, Yakko saw three horses and riders trotting along. There was no doubt in his mind that it was Arthur, Javier and Trelawny. And in the river- 

“Are they following that boat?” 

“Seems like it.”

“You think that’s the boat with Sean on it?”

“Could be, come on.”

The two of them continued onwards, following the boat up the Montana, and trying to keep an eye on the other three as well. They’d continue their trek in silence, Charles again not being much for conversation, and Yakko just not knowing how to strike anything up for once. Regardless, after a few minutes of walking and watching the boat, it would come to a stop on a riverbank, several men unboarding, with another man with restraints on his hands, a bag over his head. Charles and Yakko watched them intently, though Charles watched with binoculars while Yakko just watched in plain sight.

“That’s gotta be Sean,” Charles mumbled, handing the binoculars over to Yakko after a second or two. He’d take them of course, looking at the men that had gotten off the boat. Sure enough, once that bag had been removed from the mystery man’s head- yep. It was Sean. It had to be. What other ginger could be worth that much trouble?

“It’s him,” Yakko confirms, continuing to watch. Oh. The bounty hunters had knocked Sean down to the ground and kicked him.

“They’re beating him up.”

Charles didn’t respond, and once Yakko put the binoculars down, he’d notice Charles waving, perhaps to let Arthur and Javier know that he and Yakko were in position. Now he was getting a tad nervous. He’s been in a gunfight before, that was a given, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t get nervous with every single fight. He didn’t wanna kill anyone. Then again, he might not have a choice this time. 

Initially, they waited for anything to really happen. They still watched Arthur and Javier move across the river while Trelawny had two bounty hunters distracted, a different pair leading Sean up the canyon.

“Are they bringing him to the camp you think?”

“No doubt about it,” Charles nods, watching them head up the canyon. Definitely heading to a camp, because where else would they be going. Yakko however, was more focused on Arthur and Javier, who had since moved behind the two bounty hunters by the river bank, stabbing the fools in the neck while they worried about the act Trelawny was putting on. Yakko made a face, watching the bodies drop down to the ground. 

“C’mon, move up.” Charles speaks quietly, and slowly starts walking the edge of the cliff again. Yakko follows him, feeling his heart beat faster and faster with every step he took. He wondered if Charles could tell how nervous he was. Oddly enough, he wasn’t this nervous during the train robbery, let alone that one shootout with the o’Driscolls. Only because there were more people on their side to do the killing in the first place. In this instance, there were only four of them. As Yakko was deep in thought, the first few gunshots sounded from down inside the canyon. 

Charles had moved away from the cliff quickly, his shotgun in hand just in case. Yakko pulled his own pistol out of his holster as well, following the other outlaw closely. Sure enough, the gunfire from the canyon had alerted the other bounty hunters. Their attention was mostly on the commotion from inside the canyon of course, firing shot after shot at Javier and Arthur. They hadn’t noticed Charles and Yakko yet, but they will soon, given Charles had fired his shotgun at the closest man, presumably killing him instantly. Yakko shivered, but had a firm grip on the pistol in his hand. No one had fired any shots at them yet, either because Charles got to them first, or Arthur and Javier shot them from down in the canyon. For that, Yakko was thankful. The more the others did, the less worried he’d be. Of course he had to throw in a shot or two, aiming at the bounty hunter’s feet. With that, they’d either lose their balance and fall down the cliff, or, they’d get shot in the head or chest by Arthur. Yakko didn’t particularly care what happened, as long as they were able to rescue Sean.

Before they knew it, Arthur and Javier were coming up from the canyon, Javier shouting for Charles and Yakko to take the left side of the bounty hunter’s camp, while he and Arthur would take the right. Yakko cursed to himself, but followed Charles again, hoping there wouldn’t be too many more men to shoot. He thought too soon, because with every few men the others shot (and which Yakko wounded), more would show up, on horses, or above the ridge by the camp itself.

“Where do these guys keep coming from?!” Yakko hissed, ducking behind a rock, Charles joining him.

“I don’t know, just keep shooting!”

Yakko definitely tried to keep shooting, most shots hit, in a non lethal way. Then he narrowly dodged a bullet that whizzed past his shoulder. It almost made his heart stop, and he hid behind a rock briefly. He’s had closer calls than that, surely? He can’t remember right now, but quickly stands back up behind the rock, firing shots at the remaining bounty hunters, nicking most of them in the arm, some in the hip. 

Before they knew it, the shooting subsided. Yakko’s breathing was heavy, Charles having to gently nudge him to get his grip on reality back. Without all the gunfire, it was eerily quiet now, not even the sound of birds could be heard.

“That all of them?”

“Seems like it,” Arthur grunts, draping his rifle over his shoulder, and unholsters his pistol. Time to get Sean, who was hung upside down by his feet on a nearby tree.

“Someone cut this rope already, my head’s killin’ me!” Sean calls, Arthur rolling his eyes, before shooting the rope, letting Sean down. The man grunts as he falls, Arthur proceeding to cut the rope from his legs. 

“Y;know, you’re a lot less ugly from that other angle Arthur.”

“Come on,” Arthur scowls, helping Sean up, only to walk away soon after.

“Do I get a hug Arthur? A warm embrace for a lost brother now found?” Arthur just laughed at that, resting a hand on Sean’s shoulder. 

“You know, nothin’ means more to me than this gang. The bond we share, it’s the most real thing to me. I would kill for it, happily die for it. But in spite of all that I would’ve easily left you here to rot if Charles hadn’t stopped me.”

“I don’t believe a word of that Arthur!” 

“Get him outta here!” Arthur groans, pushing Sean away. 

“You’re a great man Arthur Morgan! The kind a young whippersnapper can really admire!”

“Oh shut up.” Arthur whistles for his horse, the others, minus Sean doing the same.

“We should split up, Javier will you escort Mr. Macquire back to camp. Charles, best you ride separately. Yakko, stay with me.” The others just nodded, Javier hoisting Sean up onto his horse, while Charles mounted up and rode alone. And then it was just Yakko and Arthur. 

“You alright?” Arthur asked, mounting up on his own horse when it came over. Yakko admittedly hesitated when the question was asked, sure, he was fine, but that bullet narrowly missing his shoulder wasn’t fine.

“I’ll be okay,” Yakko just gets back up on his horse, following Arthur who galloped away from camp, hoping to avoid any law. They followed the trail west, avoiding Blackwater of course, riding past some old fort. Yakko had no idea where they were headed, he just wanted to get away from that mess. 

“You did good back there y’know,” Arthur breaks the silence after a few minutes, slowing his horse to a walk, once they were in a more dense area of the forest.

“I did?”

“Sure, shot a bunch of fellas, noticed you got one in the chest.”

 _Oh._ Yakko tensed once he heard that. So he did kill someone. Arthur noticed that rather quickly.

“Try not to think too hard ‘bout it.”

“But I-”

“Killed some stupid bounty hunter that would’ve killed you if he had the chance. Don’t worry about it son, it’s alright.” 

Yakko doubted Arthur’s words. Arthur really never thought twice about shooting and killing someone. If they were shooting at him, he took it as fair game. Yakko was more of a ‘let’s talk it out’ kind of guy. A pacifist outlaw. Or not so much a pacifist, more of a ‘I’d rather talk someone to death rather than shoot them’ kind of outlaw.

Arthur, of course, seemed to notice that Yakko, even after the “Arthur Morgan Reassurance” technique, still looked rather troubled. Part of him didn’t blame the kid, to his knowledge Yakko had never killed a man before, and hearing the news “good job you killed someone!” probably wouldn’t be perceived as god news. But, life goes on. Not for those bounty hunters though. 

“Look, Yakko, I’m sorry that you uh… y’know, but look on the brightside, you got your friend back.” That was true. Yakko nods his head a little, sighing, sitting up a little straighter in the saddle.

“I know.”

“You two can get back into all your antics again, maybe piss Micah off enough to the point where he leaves.”

“Can’t we just cut _him_ loose?”

“Believe me, I’d love to. Maybe you and your sibs can annoy the bastard to the point where he’ll leave though.”

“We’ll work on that.” Yakko finds himself smiling a little now. Suppose he’ll have a moral dilemma about killing a bounty hunter later. But- as he thinks about it, Arthur was technically right. That bounty hunter could’ve killed him if he hadn’t shot him in time. But- still. Ugh. He shakes his head, focusing on the trail in front of them. Camp was probably a long way from here. Whatever. They had longer trips.

“Now c’mon, let’s get back to camp. Don’t imagine that any law followed us.” Arthur speaks up, and nudges his horse into a canter, Yakko following behind him. He hoped no law followed them. He didn’t want to have to play hide and seek with lawmen, not today at least. Another day maybe. Though, as they head back to camp, Yakko notices the sun still setting, dusk creeping up on them. They’d have to hurry if they were to get back to camp before it got completely dark out. So, with what little sunlight they had left, the two continued their ride back to Horseshoe Overlook, all the while Yakko still had a moral dilemma in his head. Because what else would you do after a funky little accidental murder?

Upon arrival back to camp, Javier, Sean and Charles seemed to have come back before Arthur and Yakko had. And much to Yakko’s further displeasure, he could already smell beer and whiskey. Seems it’s time to celebrate Sean’s return with getting absolutely shitfaced drunk. 

Yakko hitched his horse, dismounting quickly, and was about to seek refuge by his tent, before Arthur spoke.

“Where you goin’ in such a hurry?”

“Gotta check up on my sibs.”

“You ain’t gonna celebrate with us?”

Yakko glanced from Arthur, to Sean, who already had a bottle in his hand, and was already spouting nonsense. Arthur would glance towards the already drunken man, made a face, then looked back at Yakko.

“I understand, go, but make sure you and your sibs get some food.”

“I will,” Yakko nods, and before Arthur can say anything else, he’s darting off to find his sibs. 

Wakko and Dot, who were bored out of their minds while their older brother was gone, had decided to just play around with Jack, either playing tag, drawing in the dirt, even hide and seek. And that was all well and good, until it got darker, and Abigail had called Jack in for bed. Also because she probably knew everyone was going to be drinking, and she didn’t need her four year old son being exposed to foolish drunks.

“When’s Yakko getting back?” Dot sat up, looking to her brother, who was currently preoccupied with playing with some pebbles on the ground. 

“Dunno,” Wakko shrugs, too busy with the rocks to look up at his sister. Dot just huffs, flopping back down on her back.

“I’m bored.”

“Can’t we go annoy that o’Driscoll? The one tied to the tree?”

Dot sat up again once Wakko put that idea into her head, and she’d look in the direction of where the o’Driscoll was. She’d get up, nudging her brother with her foot.

“Come on then, we got a smelly o’Driscoll to bother.”

“Oh not you two again,” the o’Driscoll groans when he sees Wakko and Dot heading over. The pestering from those two, and their older brother, who seemed to be MIA at the moment was incessant, and they always teased the poor boy for smelling like horseshit. Which, he did, given he was stuck in the stables back at Colter for a few days.

“Hiiiii smelly!” Dot calls, trotting quickly up to the o’Driscoll, who she’d actually learned the name of recently, only from asking Arthur prior to him leaving this morning. Apparently the boy’s name was Kieran Duffy, and Dot distinctly remembers laughing at his last name.

“Please leave me alone-”

“Aw c’mon! No fun in that,” Dot folds her arms across her chest, tapping her foot on the ground. 

“And you can’t tell us what to do anyways,” Wakko adds. “The only person that tells us what to do is our big brother.” Dutch, who was just a few feet away, would side eye the two Warner siblings as he heard that.

“What- What about Mr. Van der Linde?”

“We only listen to him when Yakko says so.” Wakko nods, confirming Dot’s statement. It was true, somewhat at least. The only time they listened to Dutch was when he was directly speaking to them, or if Yakko made them listen to whatever the old fart had to say. But, as two children, neither Wakko or Dot found anything Dutch said interesting. Unless if it was about a job or something, nothing either of them could join the rest of the gang with, but still fun to hear about. 

“Plus, we gotta get you to talk somehow,” Dot adds again, standing on the tips of her toes, staring Kieran dead in the eye.

“So spill what you know about your stinky little gang!”

“I ain’t know nothin’ I swear!-”

“That’s what you said last time,” Wakko circles the tree that Kieran’s tied to, a frown on his face. “You gotta have something new to say by now, or else that’s just bad writing.” He added that list bit in quieter than his normal speaking voice.

“Please- I-I swear I ain’t know a thing, I only rode with them fellas for a little while- I don’t even like those boys-” Kieran tries desperately, shying away against the trunk of the tree. He did _not_ want to interact with the Warners, never usually did in any case. Those little bastards got into everything and they never left _anyone_ alone. At least that’s how Kieran saw it. It seemed they were always causing some sort of trouble.

But before Wakko or Dot could say anything else, they were interrupted by the sound of two horses heading into camp.

“Arthur and Yakko are back!” Javier calls, he’d been on guard duty after he’d gotten back, keeping an eye out for the two. Plus, he had to make sure no law tailed them. Which, they hadn’t. Arthur would’ve taken care of it though, if that situation arose. But, getting back to the matter at hand-

“You’re lucky our brother’s back,” Dot points at Kieran menacingly, and then she’s running off to meet her brother, Wakko following her after growling at the o’Driscoll. 

The two of them ran over to Arthur and Yakko, just hearing the last bits of their conversation; Arthur telling Yakko to make sure he and his sibs ate, while Yakko promised he’d do just that. And just as Yakko had turned away from Arthur to look for his sibs, they were on him in seconds flat.

“You’re back!” Dot hugs onto her brother tightly, Wakko following suit of course, both their tails wagging. With how abruptly they clinged onto him, Yakko nearly lost his footing.

“We missed you!” 

“Sibs I wasn’t even gone that long-”

“Yes you were!” Dot argues, breaking the hug for a moment, to pout up at her older brother. “It’s been hours! And we’ve been bored this whole time!”

“It couldn’t have been that bad,” Yakko chuckles to himself, and heads over to Pearson’s wagon, his siblings tailing behind him, Wakko holding onto his brother’s arm as they walk. “You guys had to have played with Jack right? He’s not boring.”

“He’s boring when he’s _sleeping._ ”

“Dot, he’s four.”

“Yeah well, it’s boring.”

“And all the adults started drinking when Sean got back so we couldn’t bother them either,” Wakko frowns, holding a little tighter onto Yakko’s arm. Well, that was a pretty good reason. Neither of the Warners particularly liked it when the whole camp decided to start drinking. Not that it happened terribly often, but still. Yakko had his own personal reasons for not liking drunks, mostly because even the scent of alcohol in general triggered memories he’d rather not resurface. Specifically memories about life before the gang. Nothing his sibs would remember though, as they were too young. 

“C’mon, we can go get some food and then I can catch you both up on what happened today.” Yakko says after a second, nudging his sibs along.

“Ooh! Did you shoot any bad guys?”

“Yeah but-”

“Did you kill anyone?”

“Dot, c’mon. Save the questions for after we eat.”

Dot just groans, but she’ll let up on gunfighting questions until after dinner. Sure the girl was only ten but she seemed all too interested in gunfights and what not. Perhaps that was just Karen, Dutch and Arthur’s effect on her. Not to mention that she’s been partially raised with the mindset of shoot first ask questions later. Suppose that’s what you get for growing up on the streets and with a gang of outlaws.

Surely enough though, after they’d finished eating and retreated to their tent to stay away from the drunken adults, Dot would continuously pester her brother about how he rescued Sean, Wakko encouraging her. Yakko didn’t want to give his sibs the realistic story of course, and instead settled on an improvised retelling.

“So there we were, me and Charles climbing up the canyon, guns in hand, mowing down every single foolish bounty hunter that dared to even show his face in our presence with Arthur and Javier...” The fake story continued, Yakko putting emphasis on how cowardly the bounty hunters had been, when in reality, Yakko was truthfully more cowardly, given how he nearly had a heart attack when Arthur told him that he did in fact kill a man. Regardless of that, Yakko continued his story.

“And when we got to their camp, we thought we took care of ‘em yeah? Then a whole bunch more of ‘em started showin’ up-”

“Did you get rid of ‘em all?” Wakko asks, holding onto his brother’s arm once again, his grip tightening.

“Wakko don’t interrupt, we're getting to the good part!” Dot scolds, gently bonking Wakko on the arm. 

“Hey, no hitting your brother,” Yakko’s turn to scold.

“I didn’t hit him!”

“Can we get back to the story?” Wakko asks, looking up to his brother eagerly. “I wanna know what happens next!” Yakko just smiles at that.

“So, as I was sayin’, a bunch more bounty hunters started showin’ up, we thought we were done for.” Both his siblings gasped softly at that. “But, lucky for us, we’re expert shots, and these bounty hunters were dumb as rocks. Blazed through those idiots like it was nothing. Not a man left standing. And we rescued Sean no problem too. Those bounty hunters didn’t see a thing coming.” Wakko and Dot both cheered at that, Wakko even clapping a little. What can he say? He loves his brother’s stories. Sure it was a little bit blown out of proportion, but his sibs didn’t have to know that. They just liked hearing about all the cool stuff they missed out on.

“I bet I woulda gotten a bunch of those stupid bounty hutners if I was there!”

“Dutch won’t even let you go on recon missions Dot, he wouldn’t let you go after bounty hunters.”

“Says you! I can handle myself just fine.”

“You’re ten.”

“So what?! You’re only fourteen, you don’t get to do anything either!” 

Wakko and Dot’s bickering continued, and Yakko smiled, watching his sibs banter back and forth. He was just glad he was back home. Hell, he was even starting to get drowsy, which was alright with him. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to listen to the gang being drunk and stupid if he were to pass out now. And hopefully his sibs would follow suit with him, getting rest too. Well. He didn’t stay awake too much longer to find out. Yakko pretty much had passed out once he laid down, which his sibs only realized ten minutes later, after they got finished with their bickering. 

“Did we make him pass out?”

“No doofus, he’s probably just tired because he was off being a cool gunslinger with Arthur and all them.” Dot paused, before she too headed over to their tent, curling up next to her big brother.

“Plus he’s been awake since early this morning.”

“So have we but I’m not tired,” Wakko mumbles, but had followed his sister over, curling up next to her and Yakko.

“Just try and go to bed.”

“You’re not the boss of me.”

“Wakko come _on_.”

Wakko just snickered, and Dot rolled over, facing away from her brother out of spite. Sure enough though, the other two Warners would start drifting off, even with the gang’s volume and drunkenness. Yeah welcome back Sean I guess but the kids don’t want your drunk nonsense.


	7. A Quiet Time(?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur and Lenny go into town to have a drink, Yakko tags along only because he wants to see the city boy again.

The celebration for Sean’s return continued throughout the night, and nearly everyone had gotten insanely drunk, with the exception of a few people, Arthur being one of them. He didn’t have any particular reason to get drunk, other than he didn’t want to be hungover the next day. And he knew that the Warners were asleep in their tent, all three of them curled up with each other. How they had slept through the gang shouting drunken nonsense and singing the whole night was beyond Arthur, but he was glad they got rest.

With the events of the night prior, most of the gang, at least the ones who drank, were still asleep by noon. Arthur of course, was working, seeing as how he was one of the only men who hadn’t much to drink. Miss Grimshaw had tasked him with chopping up some more firewood, cleaning some of the tables, feeding the horses, anything that needed doing. Of course, once he finished his work, he’d make his way back over to his tent, sitting on the cot. Smoke break time. 

“Whatcha doin’ Arthur?” Yakko poked his head out from the wagon behind Arthur’s cot, the outlaw tensing up when he made his presence known. 

“Takin’ a break, what’s it look like I’m doin’?”

“It looks like you’re smoking.” Yakko plops himself down right next to Arthur. The outlaw just chuckles, nodding his head. Not like the kid was wrong.

“That I am,” Arthur puffs a cloud of smoke out from his mouth, Yakko making a face at the smell. That was yet another smell that the kid hated, besides alcohol and the stench that lingered on Wakko whenever he decided to play out in the rain and mud.

“We got any plans for today?” Yakko asks, tapping his feet on the ground as he waited for an answer. Arthur just shrugs.

“No idea, I’m sure we can think of somethin’ though.”

“Oh, wait- I heard something in town the other day, something about a house.”

“A house?”

“Yeah, some weird place up in the mountains. Some guy in the saloon said that they might be sitting on tons of cash. They’re highway robbers or something.”

“Sounds interesting. But also a little dubious.”

“We’re _outlaws_. Tons of tips we get are dubious.”

“Fair point.” Arthur chuckles, suppose there wouldn’t be any harm in checking the place out at least.

“Tell you what, we’ll go check it out later today if I’ve got the time.” Yakko smiled widely at that, and he nods. Maybe Arthur would let his sibs come with them. Though, perhaps if it was dangerous, maybe it would just be him and Arthur. The last thing Yakko wanted was for his sibs to get hurt, or be in any kind of danger. Though, before anything else could be said-

“Arthur, can I speak to you for a moment?” Dutch had interrupted them, standing just outside of his tent, a little aways from Arthur’s tent. Yakko pouted when they’d been interrupted, Arthur patting his back in reassurance.

“We’ll make plans later,” the outlaw says, before standing and heading over to Dutch. Yakko didn’t pay all that much attention to whatever they’d been saying, though he did pick up on Arthur asking when they were heading back west. Yakko had wondered that too, but he’d convinced himself that they wouldn’t be going west any time soon with the amount of shit that they stirred up in Blackwater. Yakko makes a face, he wished he could go back west, back in the open plains.

He sighs, remembering distinctly how he and his siblings would just roam around just outside of Blackwater, sure they’d just be playing nonsense games, but it had still been fun. Though, he supposed one perk of coming east was meeting that boy, Oliver. That boy was… well, he was certainly something. In his own way. He certainly did look like a regular old city boy, but Yakko thought he was rather interesting. Of course, they’d only met a small handful of times, but still. It was a rather gut feeling. Perhaps he would’ve daydreamed longer, had it not been for the sound of hoofbeats rapidly approaching the camp.

“They got Micah! Dutch! Arthur!” Lenny hastily dismounted his horse, rushing over to Dutch and Arthur, followed by Miss o’Shea who had been in Dutch’s tent.

“What’s going on?”

“They- They got Micah. He’s been arrested for murder. He was in Strawberry and-”

“It’s okay son, breathe.” Lenny did look rather panicked, and Yakko felt bad for the poor guy. He hopped off Arthur’s cot to investigate, quietly heading over to listen in on the conversation. 

“They nearly lynched me- They- They got Micah in the Sheriff’s office in Strawberry, and there’s talk of hangin’ him.”

“Here’s hoping.” Yakko snorted with laughter as Arthur spoke, covering his mouth quickly.

“Arthur.”

“What? The fool brought this on himself. You know my feelings about him Dutch.” 

“You think I can’t see past his bluster to the heart inside? He is a fine man.” Dutch’s comment got the fur on the back of Yakko’s neck standing up. Micah didn’t seem like the kind of man to have a heart, not even one hidden deep inside. He’d only seen Micah in a handful of fights, heard plenty about how much of a bastard he was, and Yakko _knew_ that man might as well be the devil himself.; disguised as some rattish, disgusting white man who prides himself on being able to shoot well and kill people better. It was better to let that fool hang, rather than get him back to camp. But, from Dutch and Arthur’s conversation, it didn’t sound like Dutch was keen on cutting Micah loose. Arthur had unhappily agreed to look into the Micah situation, checking back up on Lenny after he agreed. The two would have a small conversation before Dutch would interrupt again.

“You take that kid into town, Valentine, not Strawberry. Get him drunk. And Arthur, no crazy business.”

“I’ve given that up.”

“And you get Micah out of that jail.” Arthur rolls his eyes at that, sighing.

“C’mon son,” he pats Lenny’s shoulders as he stands up, and they head over to the horses. Yakko wants to follow them, except he doesn’t want to see either of them getting drunk.

“What was that all about?” Wakko had walked over to his older brother, tilting his head as he watched Arthur and Lenny head out of camp. Dot had followed him over as well, just as curious.

“Nothin’, just lame adult stuff.”

“It didn’t sound lame,” Dot looked up to Yakko, a mischievous grin on her face. “I heard Micah got put in jail.”

“Finally,” Wakko sighs in relief.

“Dutch made Arthur go get him out though,” Yakko adds, both of his siblings groaning in unison. They didn’t care for Micah either, in fact they were surprised Dutch ever let that fool in the gang in the first place.

“Why can’t we just leave him there?” Dot lowers her voice to a whisper, tugging on Yakko’s pant leg. Perhaps she had high hopes of Micah getting cut. So did Wakko, though he didn’t need him to say it.

“I don’t know,” Yakko glanced to Dutch’s tent, holding his tongue for what he was about to say. He nudges his siblings forward, away from Dutch’s earshot.

“But maybe if we’re lucky, Arthur won’t get to him in time.”

“I hope so! I hate him, have you _heard_ the way he talks about some of the girls?” Yakko made a face at his sister’s comment, he definitely has heard the way Micah would talk about the other girls. Nothing he particularly wanted to remember. Not to mention how rude that sack of shit was to all three of the Warners.

“I hope he stays in that jail and rots,” Dot continues, the fur on her tail bristling. “It’s what he deserves.”

“If he comes back can we bully him?”

“Obviously.” Yakko nods, patting Wakko on the head. He’d glance out to the exit of the camp for a moment. Part of him wanted to go after Lenny and Arthur, maybe make sure they didn’t get up to anything bad. Then again, another part of him found it odd that an eighteen year old should try and police a nineteen year old and a thirty-six year old outlaw. Whatever.

“Listen, I’m gonna go into town and make sure Arthur and Lenny don’t get into any trouble,” he pats his sibs’ shoulders, as he starts to move forward.

“They don’t need a babysitter,” Wakko points out, still following his older brother.

“Yeah, and they’re older than you so they super don’t need a babysitter.”

“Sibs c’mon,” Yakko frowns a little, turning to face his siblings.

“I’m just gonna make sure they don’t do anything stupid. And then I’ll come back.” Both Wakko and Dot seemed doubtful of that, Dot even holding off a comment about that city boy Yakko talked about a few times. She nudges Wakko, and they head back into camp, consequently taking off after Hosea, badgering him for a story, or just to play with them. With his sibs distracted, Yakko would mount up on his horse, and head off towards Valentine.

The ride to Valentine didn’t take too long. Afterall, it was only a few minutes or so away from camp. Yakko was thankful for that at least. Hell, he could even still make out fresh horse tracks, presumably from Arthur and Lenny’s horses. Not like he had to track them of course, he knew where they were headed. Part of him wishes that Dutch hadn’t instructed Arthur to just “get the kid drunk,” personally he didn’t see how that would really solve anything. Or maybe he was just biased into being against heavy drinking. Not since what happened to his parents. Yakko blinks, and shakes his head, shaking that thought. If there was anything he wished he could forget, it was that night. He shivers, but rides on, nudging his horse into a quicker trot.

Valentine was just about as bustling as any livestock town could be, not crowded of course, but there were just enough people. Yakko slowed his horse to a walk once he turned the corner by the train station, making sure he didn’t have a collision course with anyone. Had he ever accidentally bumped into someone on horseback before? That’s a secret he’ll never tell. Well, depends on the situation. Either way, Yakko made his way up the street, passing the freight station and the saloon. Nothing of interest really, the odd civilian would wave, saying hello, or a howdy as Yakko passed. 

Soon enough, it was time to head down the main street. Not packed, sure, there were a few horses tied to hitching posts here and there, but nothing major. A few workers going back and forth with wooden planks resting on their shoulders as well. Same old boring Valentine. Yakko sighs to himself, deciding to hitch his horse by the general store, at the end of the road. He’d noticed Arthur and Lenny’s horses hitched up by the saloon, only to assume that the two men inside had probably already started drinking. He didn’t want to double check. Sure he said he went to town to keep an eye on them, but on the way here, he slowly abandoned that idea, telling himself that he can just loiter around town for a while instead of putting himself on grown up babysitting duty. Outlaw-sitting duty? Whatever, Yakko’s plans had shifted into just meandering about, see what’s up. 

Yakko would head into the general store, greeting the cashier with a friendly wave. Might as well see if there was anything of interest in here. Sure, he didn’t have much in the way of cash, but it’s not like things were crazy stupid expensive. C’mon, it’s 1899, you can’t charge five bucks for a chocolate bar in this time period. Not unless you wanna get shot maybe.

So, Yakko did pick out a chocolate bar or two, along with some candies, for his sibs of course. They deserved it. He might as well pick one or two other provisions up, maybe some salted meat, a can or two of fruit. Anything he could fit in his satchel. And just as he had been heading out, he’d bump into someone.

“Oh- Oh dear I’m so sorry-” Wait a minute. That voice-

“Oliver?” Yakko took a step back for a moment, eyeing the person he’d ran into. Well what do you know. 

“Yakko?” Oliver perked up once he heard a familiar voice, nonetheless that nice cowboy he’d run into a few times before. By the devil, it was him huh. What a coincidence.

“It’s been a little while, hasn’t it?” 

“Why, you miss me that much?”

“Oh hush.”

“Can you two gentlemen take this outside? You’re blockin’ the door,” the cashier calls out, an annoyed expression on his face. The two didn’t need to be told twice, Oliver backing out first, Yakko following him behind. Once they were back outside on the porch though-

“Did you need to grab anything in there or-”

“Oh, no, I uh… Well I saw your horse hitched outside and thought you might’ve been in there so-”

“Aww were you looking for me?” There was a hint of a teasing tone in Yakko’s voice, and Oliver just chuckles to himself.

“That’s one way of putting it I suppose.” Yakko felt himself smiling at that. So the city boy was totally keeping his eye out for him, same as he did whenever he came to town.He couldn’t help it. It was an impulse thing, not to mention Oliver was the only boy his age outside of the gang that he was friends with. Were they friends? They’d only met a few times. Then again, if they weren’t an asshole, they could count as a friend. 

“So, what are you doing in town today?” Oliver asks, deciding to take a seat on the bench just outside of the general store. Yakko would stay standing for a moment, just shrugging his shoulders at Oliver’s question.

“Just hangin’ around, nothin’ special.” Partially a lie. He came here with the intent on making sure Arthur and Lenny didn’t do anything stupid, but that goal slowly melted away. Plus, his sibs were sort of right, that those two didn’t need a babysitter. 

“Plus I needed to buy a few things, so… yeah.”

The two of them sat in silence for a brief moment, Oliver fiddling with his fists in his lap, bouncing his leg ever so slightly. Perhaps he was waiting for more conversation from Yakko’s end, only to realize the more silence they sat in, that Yakko probably wouldn’t initiate. Which was odd, to him maybe, seeing as how the cowboy seemed more… what was the word, outgoing maybe? Or he just seemed more like the vocal time. So, after a moment, Oliver glanced over to him.

“Are you busy at this very moment?”

“Uhh, no. Just sittin’ here with you. Why?”

“Would you like to go on a trail ride? There’s a river just north of town that’s got really marvelous scenery, I think you’d enjoy it.” Oliver would pause, looking a tad embarrassed. “Only if you’d like to of course.”

Yakko stopped for a moment, looking at the boy next to him. How many times have they met? Three? Well, four, including this one. Was this an invitation for a date or was he just being nice and wanted to get to know him? Yakko didn’t know, but the next words out of his mouth were-

“You askin’ me out city boy?” 

“What? I- No- I just- I think it would be fun. Just fun! No- No funny business. Just two men out on the trail. Enjoying the scenery.” Oliver wouldn’t look Yakko in the eye, holding his hands tightly together as he awaited the other’s answer. He prayed that he didn’t just make a fool of himself for getting so uppity. Was- Did he make it sound like he was asking him out? Did it sound like he was trying to court him? Oh dear. They’d only just met- Oliver wasn’t trying to court anyone. Just- Just make a friend, yes. Friends go out on trail rides together right? Yes. He didn’t have to overthink so much. 

“I mean I’ve got nothing better to do, trail ride sounds better than just lazing around town for hours.”

“Really?”

“Sure. But you gotta lead the way. I’m still new around these parts.”

“Oh! Wonderful!” Oliver clapped his hands together gently, and stood up. He did look excited, maybe still a mite flustered, but he figures he’ll get over it.

“I’ll have to grab my horse from the stables, then we’ll meet up right outside, okay?”

“Take your time city boy,” Yakko smiles at him as he heads off the porch, towards the stables. He watches him go, only to tear his attention away to look at his horse.

“Whaddaya say boy, wanna go on a little trail ride?” The horse snorts in response, and Yakko leaves the porch, standing next to the horse and pats his neck.

“C’mon buddy, it’ll be fun! Plus you need a chance to stretch your legs old man.” The horse stomps his hoof at that, in retaliation for Yakko calling him old. He wasn’t that old. Well, maybe. Yakko didn’t know how old his horse actually was. Not like it mattered all too much.

“We’ll go wait for that guy by the stables okay? I doubt he’ll take long.” Yakko would unhitch his horse from the post, leading him towards the stables. He could make out Oliver on the inside, albeit vaguely, given the dark interior of the building itself, and the glare from the sun. He’d wait just outside the stable, mounting up as well, just watching people go by all the while.  
  


As Oliver said, it didn’t take him that long to get his horse ready. Though Yakko wasn’t entirely expecting an expensive looking silvery mare to ride out. Then again, this was a city boy he was dealing with. The bitter part of Yakko just hoped he knew how to properly ride a horse. But that thought would be shoved away, seeing as how it looked like Oliver knew exactly what he was doing as he rode out.

“I didn’t take too long I hope?”

“‘course not,” Yakko sat up a little straighter in his saddle, adjusting his grip on the reins. “Lead the way cityboy.”

Oliver just smiles at that, and nudges his horse forward, heading down a trail that led past the stable. Thankfully this path wasn’t as muddy as the rest of Valentine was. 

Their trek started out slow, Yakko too preoccupied with looking around to really go much faster, let alone make any idle conversation. Oliver hadn’t minded that, he was just glad that Yakko looked like he was enjoying himself. At least that’s what it looked like. Then again who doesn’t like a leisurely trail ride on a nice sunny day? 

They’d continue down the path, still without many words, Yakko glancing around at nearly everything. He hadn’t been down this way before of course, so naturally he was curious about what was down this way. Plus, this could always be a good escape route if he was to get into trouble in town. There was that one lead Tilly had gotten, about the doctor, Yakko couldn’t remember the specifics. But, this little path that lead down to the river could be a quick ticket away from the law. If he ever needed it. But, for the moment, he’d rather not think about trying to escape the law. He’d eye his surroundings, taking note of the many pine trees and shrubs dotted about the sides of the path, not to mention the songbirds flying away as they rode past. The river was a tad quiet, not quite was Yakko had expected, though of course he could still hear it. Not quite the loud, roaring river he had in mind. 

“My aunt took me on this trail a few times,” Oliver speaks up, a gentle smile on his face as he looks around some. “She said it’s one of her favorites, plus apparently it’s not a bad fishing spot.”

“You fish?”

“Only sometimes,” Oliver shrugs a little. Yakko was a little surprised at his answer, and he could tell. “I know I don’t look the type to get my hands dirty but with living out here, I don’t really have a choice in the matter.”

“Well ain’t you full of surprises,” Yakko smiles, maybe he’s entranced by the fact that this city boy does actually know what he’s doing. He had the wrong impression of him since he laid eyes on him. Oh how the world works.

“I suppose we all have moments like those.”

“You’re not gonna make me reveal one of _my_ surprises are you?”

“Not unless you want to of course.”

Not unless he wanted to huh? Yakko thinks for a minute. What could he possibly say without oversharing. He glances to the mountains, which he could conveniently see as they continued walking down the path. He debated on telling Oliver about that debacle, though it was quickly washed away, worrying if the boy would question why _exactly_ they were on that mountain during a storm to begin with. So, he settled for something stupid.

“I’ve got something stupid.”

“I’m sure it’s not-”

“I named my horse after Shakespeare.”

Oliver was quiet for a second after that, before he’d allow himself to laugh. Yakko smiled a little wider, hearing him laugh at that. It was pretty funny huh? Naming a horse after some dead poet. Shakespeare was a poet right? I don’t remember high school. He’s dead. Anyways.

“You- You named him Shakespeare?”

“Of course I did. It’s the perfect name for a horse! Plus he likes it, don’t you boy?” Yakko leans over slightly to pat the horse’s neck, who in turn just snorts, his ears going back. If horses could talk, he probably wouldn’t want to be referred to as Shakespeare. Oliver’s laughter had subsided, though he was still smiling of course. He’s always got to have a smile on his face, doesn’t he? Oh well. 

The two of them continued their ride nonetheless, Yakko taking note of a train on the tracks, suspended well above the ground across the river. He hadn’t even noticed there was a bridge there in the first place. He turns his attention to the river again, actually stopping when he saw… something, or someone, it looked like.

“Why did you-”  
“There’s somebody in the river over there,” Yakko pointed to the shape in the water, Oliver stopping to take a look as well. Huh. From where they were, it looked like an older man, dressed in rags, hip deep in the river. Yakko and Oliver exchanged a look.

“What should we do?”

“Dunno, ride by and just mind our business?”

“Good idea,” Oliver nods, and nudges his horse into a trot, just so he maybe doesn’t have to deal with the man in the water. Yakko followed suit, eyeing the man as he rode past. The man didn’t seem to notice either of them, given he was just… yelling at nothing. Literally. Just looking up to the sky and shouting random nonsense. It’s nothing that Yakko wanted to be a part of, nor Oliver. The fur on the back of Yakko’s neck did stand up though, when that man in the river started shouting “Begone! Begone!” up at the sky. It unnerved him in the slightest, but he kept following Oliver, trying to focus on the trail again.

“Wonder what that guy’s deal was,” Yakko grumbles, nudging his horse to walk next to Oliver’s. The city boy just makes a face.

“Who knows. He was probably just some drunkard who wandered too far from the saloon.”

“In _those_ clothes?”

“You’re more concerned about his clothing choices than the fact that he was more than halfway submerged in a river?”

“Listen, if it were me, I’d get some fancy schmancy tux and make a big deal out of it. What’s the point of wading around in a river during a mental crisis in a bunch of rags?”

“It’d be a waste of clothes.”

“But it’d give the whole situation a little bit more pizazz.” Oliver rolls his eyes, chuckling at Yakko’s statement. Sure neither of them knew what that man’s intentions really were, or just what he was doing, but maybe it’s a little funny when you think of it out of context.

“Oh dear.” After a few steps more, Oliver would slow his horse to a stop by the river, a frown on his face. Yakko would stop beside him, dropping the reins for a second to stretch.

“What’s up?”

“The trail ends here, I completely forgot about that.” Oliver’s brows are furrowed, and he looks somewhat disappointed. Sure, there were other branches of the trail, but they were just… boring. Plus he’d been on them multiple times before. Yakko however, was just eyeing the surrounding area, taking note of what was across the river as well. 

“Y’know we don’t really need a trail, right?”

“But what if we get lost?”

“We’ll just follow the river back, no biggie.” Yakko just shrugs, getting lost wasn’t something he was too worried about. Besides, they’d only really have to worry if they lost sight of the river, or if there were no road signs, if they came across a well traveled road. But what stretch of country didn’t have road signs? For starters maybe further out west where it’s less civilized. But that’s besides the point. Yakko nudges his horse into a walk, passing Oliver.

“C’mon, follow me.”

Even with the lack of any further trail, the two carried on, following the river. Not much difference in scenery, apart from maybe some very small islands in wider parts of the river, covered in little pale gray pebbles, the other side of the riverbank dotted with some of those same pebbles. The river looked a little deeper as well, Yakko making a face, if they had to cross, the horses would probably have to swim or something. And Yakko preferred to keep himself dry, given that it wasn’t exactly warm enough to be taking any dips in any body of water. And he doubted that Oliver would want to get wet either. But- he’s gathered that Oliver wasn’t the average run of the mill city boy either. Then why wear semi-formal looking clothes on a trail ride, let alone in _Valentine?_ Eh. It wasn’t really his business. 

The farther they went, the more Oliver seemed to be looking around at everything, probably just making note of any significant landmarks. Yakko would be doing the same, but he was just trying to navigate where to go next, making sure he wouldn’t run them into anything. Not that he believed this particular side of the river was dangerous, no, but there could just be a natural blockade of some sort. Or just bad footing for the horses.

“It’s pretty over he isn’t it?”

“Huh? Oh yeah,” Yakko tears his attention away from scoping his made up path, looking around briefly. Oh yeah. It is pretty nice huh. He did notice though, that some cliffs were starting to become visible just over the heads of the trees. Huh. That looked a little familiar.

“I think I know where we are.”

“You do? I thought you-”

“Yeah I know, those cliff things just look familiar.”

Oliver would take his turn to look up at said mountains, squinting. He’s certainly never seen them before. Or maybe he has. They’re just cliffs. Not very interesting. As they continued their walk, it would finally hit him. Yakko stopped his horse after he and Oliver walked up a small slope, looking to the mountains, then the river. He’d switch between the two, and then it hit him.

“Oh! I crossed that river with my sibs once, I definitely know where we are,” Yakko nods his head as he speaks, and he does seem pretty confident. 

“Actually, my dad was drivin’ the wagon yeah? And the wheel came off when he got out of the water. We all keep teasin’ him about it still.” That got a little chuckle out of Oliver.

“So if you know where we are, do you know how to get to town from here?” Oliver most certainly had to ask, not because he had a curfew, he just… didn’t like riding too late. It was late afternoon now, or at least that’s what he speculated.

“Well I know we take the left road,” Yakko nods to the road on their side of the river. Going right was just a way back into the mountains. Or maybe there were other paths. He does remember seeing at least two more paths, where they lead to? He hadn’t the slightest clue.

“Then we follow that for a bit, there’s uh… I dunno. We can wing it.”

“Wing it?”

“Trust me, I won’t get us lost.” Oliver had a shred of doubt on his face, but, what has he got to lose? His life, for one, but he didn’t believe that Yakko was that kind of person. So, he just sighs, and follows Yakko down the left trail. 

So, they were going in the right direction after all. At first, they did stop a wagon who was just about to cross the river for directions, the driver assisting them. Though, they didn’t really need all that many directions, seeing as how they did come across a signpost which further pointed them in the right direction. Oliver’s worries had melted away the closer they’d gotten to town, recognizing more and more things as they went on their way. He did have fun, just getting out on the horse and doing a trail ride was good entertainment for him, and given he had company this time around? Oliver did wonder if Yakko felt the same. He gathered that he did, seeing as how he was relaxed in the saddle, with a smile still on his face. He was a strange man that one. Oliver was one to talk, look at him. All neat and dainty but he knew how to hunt, ride a horse, and defend himself if need be. But… He barely knew anything about Yakko. Hmm. Time to change that.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Ask away city boy.” 

“I apologize if this seems odd but… Could you tell me a little bit about yourself?”

“Me?” Yakko looks at his friend, a bit of a confused look on his face. About him, huh? What a loaded question that was. There was a lot he just outright couldn’t say, which was literally all of his background. But he could… Oh this was going to be hard, wasn’t it? Whatever. He can be as vague as he wants. Oliver doesn’t have to know he’s an outlaw.

“Well I tend to get into a few scrapes here and there. That much is probably obvious.”

“I would’ve never painted you as a troublemaker.”

“You’d be surprised,” Yakko smirks. Okay, maybe this wouldn’t be so hard. All he had to do is tell a story about pissing someone off. That’s troublemaker story material right?

“The _amount_ of people that wanted to either shoot me or put me in a jail is _astounding._ ”

“What did you do?”

“Just talked! It’s insane what you can do to rile people up these days. I called some guy an old fart and he shot at me. I dodged it, of course. Then I told him he had a fat head and he tried to get the sheriff to arrest me.”

“Good lord,” Oliver was laughing a little, shaking his head as well. When Yakko said he got into a few scrapes, he really thought he meant something illegal. Little does he know. But he doesn’t, so it’s okay.

“I’d imagine you haven’t gotten up to much trouble in Valentine though, have you?”

“Nah. My dad told me to try and be on my best behavior. I think I’m doing alright so far.”

“I haven’t seen your face on any bounty posters so I’d wager that you’re doing pretty well as is.” That comment though did make Yakko tense up. Had he even been on a bounty poster before? He never really knew. If he was, he wished he’d gotten to steal it as a memento. Maybe if something happens in town at some point he’ll get that opportunity. Though a part of him did hope that he wouldn’t get into any trouble. He _knew_ Hosea or Dutch would be on about him for that.

“If I saw my face on a bounty poster one day I’d probably just steal it. It’s like a funky little trophy! And good for storytelling.”

“Oh stop it,” Oliver just rolls his eyes at that. Did he have any doubt that Yakko would actually steal his own bounty poster? No. He’d definitely, 100% attempt that. Hell, he’d get away with it too.

As they went on, conversation was on and off at times, usually initiated by Oliver, curious about Yakko, and at times Yakko would do the same. Yakko of course didn’t answer some questions truthfully, he didn’t want to expose himself running with a gang, let alone tell Oliver his sob story. It seemed way too soon for that. But, he did learn a fair share about Oliver. That he’s only been down this way for at least nine months, that he lived with his aunt, that his parents said that moving down here would be a good experience for him. Oliver did admit that he had mixed feelings at first, but the longer he stayed down here, the more he grew to love it. There were also the little things that he mentioned, like the books he read, that he sketched sometimes, and that he went stargazing when the sky was clear. 

Meanwhile, all Oliver really knew about Yakko, was that he traveled a lot, with his sibs, and their father. He had asked if they had a mother, to which Yakko shook his head, saying, “Oh she died a long time ago. It’s just been me, my sibs, and our dad for as long as I can remember.” There wasn’t anything wrong with that persay, though Oliver figured that wasn’t the full story. He didn’t pry, continuing to listen to Yakko’s ramblings, about how he either almost got arrested, did get arrested, got shot at, or just random stories that he heard over the years. It was interesting, worrying at times, given how much trouble this boy seemed to get into, but the way he told these stories, just made it seem like some funny happenings in his life. Nothing truly out of the ordinary. No. Yakko wasn’t ordinary. He’d probably condone that as an insult.

“We’re not too far from town now,” Oliver comments, taking note of lights from a ranch on the left of the road. He couldn’t remember who lived there, some random rancher and his family, he didn’t know them, but who else would live there? He’s traveled this specific path before, he doesn’t know why he got so worried before. Perhaps he was just overthinking things at the time. Just a tad.

“How far do you think?”

“Won’t take long if we pick up the pace,” Oliver glances to Yakko, looking like he was plotting something. “You wanna race back?”

 _Race?_ Now Oliver was really throwing him for a loop. Or maybe he needs to make his horse run around and stretch its legs more. 

“You can handle a race?”

“Can _you_?” Yakko didn’t know that Oliver would ever talk back to him. This fool sure is full of surprises huh. What a card he was.

“You’re on.” And thus began their race back to Valentine. Maybe at first Yakko was in the lead, making quips about how the dust tasted back there, or where he learned how to ride. All in good fun, Oliver laughing at them, saying he’ll make him regret those words, again, in good fun. This wasn’t a life or death race after all. Just two fools seeing who’s horse can run faster. But, Oliver would soon take the lead, side eyeing Yakko as he passed him. And he let him. He would’ve pushed his horse faster, if it weren’t for his horse’s age, and the fact that maybe, just maybe, he had an inclination to just let Oliver win.

“See? I can handle a race,” Oliver would dismount his horse, patting its neck once he was on the ground. He’d won, only because Yakko let him. Or, he was the better horseman. Either or.

“Yeah I just let you win,” Yakko rolls his eyes, dismounting his horse as well. Might as well give the old man a break. Besides, he can just lead him.

“Did you? Or do you just not want to admit that a boy from the city beat you in a horse race?” Surprisingly, he didn’t have a comeback for that. He just shook his head, smiling, a very subtle blush on his cheeks. _Cat got your tongue, huh?_

“Fine, you win,” Yakko says after a moment, Oliver just looks accomplished after that confirmation. Seems that’s all he really needed. What an odd boy he was. _Who am I to talk?_

They led their horses into town, side by side, making some more idle chit chat, Oliver mentioning how he’d always wanted to just race like that, feel the wind, that cliche sort of thing. He’d even seemed embarrassed to admit it, Yakko reassuring him that it was fine, that he got urges like that too. Oliver even asked if maybe they could do something like this again, either the trail ride, or a race. Or both! Yakko was fine with either, blindly agreeing to maybe meet up again in a few days or so. Why was he so willing to go? He didn’t know. He liked to think that this was the first boy outside the gang, the first normal boy that he was able to be friends with in a while. Sure, he had other friends before, but they either grew distant, moved, or Yakko moved. But he got the inclination that Oliver was different. A good different, and someone that he could hold on to for a while, maybe longer than most.

“I had fun with you today,” Oliver’s voice is a little softer, now that they’re back in town. The sun was starting to set by now, maybe it was dusk, Yakko never really kept track. Nor did Oliver it seemed.

“I hope I’ll see you again soon, for another ride?”

“I hope so too,” Yakko nods, but he’s still got that smile on his face. He didn’t really know how he’d sneak out to go on a leisurely trail ride while there was plenty of work to do at camp, but he’d manage. Plus, this was worth it. _Just as long as Miss Grimshaw doesn’t find out I guess. Or Dutch._

They said their goodbyes soon after, Oliver mounting up on his horse, saying that he needed to get home before it got much darker out, though, apparently he didn’t live too far away. Though, that left Yakko alone, his horse hitched right where they’d started today, by the general store. He thought for a moment, about what to do now, only to be interrupted by a familiar voice shouting god knows what from the saloon. Of course, his curiosity got the best of him. He’d cautiously make his way over to the building, peeking in from the window.

“You don’t wanna go in there son, it’s a mite too crazy in there tonight,” a man who had seen him peeking in there, who presumably just left the saloon, spoke up.

“Oh, uh, thanks mister.” The man says nothing else in return, just nods his head, and continues on his way. But, what he said worried him. The worry further increased, noticing that both Lenny and Arthur’s horses were still tethered to the hitching post.

“Oh for fucks sake,” he groans, now recognizing that the shouting and such was definitely all Arthur. Yakko turns away from the saloon for a moment, his face in his hands, wondering what he should do. He certainly didn’t want to get caught up in any drunken shenanigans, but he didn’t want to leave Arthur or Lenny here. Plus, if they’ve been here for this long, presumably drinking, who knows what trouble they could, or already have gotten into. Great. Caught between a rock and hard place. He’d look back and forth between the saloon, and then his horse.

“They’ll owe me money after this,” Yakko grumbles, turning, and heading into the saloon to look for the two outlaws.

“Arthur come _on_ , we have to go!”

“Noooo jus’- jus’ one more-”

“You’ve had enough, both of you, now just-”

“I never knew your fur was this soft,” Lenny pats Yakko on the head, a wide smile on his face. Both of them were stumbling out of the saloon, Arthur’s face all red with a dopey grin on his face, Lenny pretty much in the same boat, just very giggly. Yakko however, looked rather sour. His ears were back, and his fur was all bristled, especially on his tail. He was starting to wish he’d just gone back to camp, but _no_ he just _had_ to be the better person.

“Can you two please stop and just get on the horses?”

“Where,” Arthur squints, looking around the street, and then he spots his horse, hitched to the post. “There he is!”

“Yeah, now go mount up.”

“Okey dokey,” Arthur giggles as he stumbles down the steps, with Yakko’s help of course, so the fool didn’t fall and land face first into the mud. Though, as they made it into the street, he did notice that there were a few lawmen watching them. Yakko didn’t think too much of it, probably just there to make sure no drunken idiots do anything stupid.

“Now go. Up on the horse,” Yakko instructs, watching Arthur closely as the man just observes the horse, the saddle, and more importantly, the stirrups. And then he looked back at Yakko.

“How.”

“Put your foot in the stirrup and lift yourself up.”

Arthur stared for a moment longer, squinted, and then did exactly as Yakko stated. And then he lost his balance and just fell down. Luckily Yakko had moved out of the way. Also lucky that Arthur found that funny, given now he was just laughing his head off, and so was Lenny. Yakko just wanted to get up and leave at this point.

“Arthur please get up.”

“The mud is comfy.”

“ _Arthur._ ”

“You havin’ trouble over there son?” A new voice intervened, and Yakko noticed one of the lawmen he saw before start to walk over. Oh no. _Play it cool_.

“I’m just um… Tryin’ to get my dad and his friend home.”

“While they’re this shitfaced?”

“I said I was tryin’.”

“Sorry to say but I don’t think they’re in any condition to go anywhere.” The man would glance at Arthur, then at Lenny, who had stumbled off the porch to investigate where Arthur had gone. Yakko just sighs, he was really hoping he would’ve been able to get them home tonight. Apparently not.

“Listen, the hotel ‘cross the street’s got a room or two for rent, y’all should head over there for the night.”

“Right, thank you sir,” Yakko nods his head, though he does look rather disappointed. At least hotels weren’t all that expensive. Couldn’t be more than five dollars, at most. Maybe. Yakko makes sure that both the horses are back to being tethered, seeing as how they won’t be going anywhere while their riders are drunk as all hell. He groans to himself upon seeing that yes, Arthur and Lenny were _still_ in that state.

“C’mon, follow me,” Yakko nudges Arthur with his foot, attempting to help him up, which surprisingly, he could manage. Sure, they were both still stumbling, but they seemed to follow Yakko somewhat okay. They were even mumbling nonsense to each other back and forth, giggling to themselves.

Yakko wasn’t anticipating walking into the hotel followed by two drunk men but it wasn’t the strangest thing he’d ever done. He politely asked for a room, specifically for the two fools loitering around the lobby, preferably something on the second floor. The man at the front desk just nodded, keeping an eye on the two of them. Two dollars for a room, he’d said, Yakko using his own money to pay for it. All he did after that, once he paid for the room, was usher both Lenny and Arthur in, telling them to go to bed, and promptly closed the door behind him. It didn’t occur to him that they’d probably have to share the bed but whatever. They can get over it. It’s not the end of the world anyways.

Yakko left the hotel in a hurry, again thanking the man at the desk. He hoped Lenny and Arthur would just stay in the hotel room, but a part of him speculated that they probably wouldn’t. But he didn’t particularly want to stick around and find out. Once he was out of the hotel, he was heading over to his horse, mounting up, and making his way back to camp. He’d only just now realized how tense he was, and how fast his heart was beating. _Never again. I’m never gonna get involved with shit like that again._

The ride back to camp was quick, given that Yakko chose to ride faster than normal, keeping his horse in a steady gallop the whole way back, only to slow down once he got by the trees near camp. He’d stop his horse for a minute, only to take a few breaths to further calm himself down. He didn’t want his sibs worried about him, and he certainly didn’t want them asking too many questions. He sighs, and nudges his horse forward once more, walking to camp.

“You’re back!” Wakko was the first to notice him, quickly slipping out of the chair he was sitting in, rushing over to Yakko. He’d hug his brother tightly once he dismounted his horse, to which his brother would happily hug him back.

“I wasn’t gone too long was I?”

“You were,” Wakko looks up at him, pouting. “Dot made me hang out with all the girls and all they talked about was cheesy dumb romance novels. Do you know how cliche all those stories are? They’re unbearable!”

“Sorry you had to go through such torture,” Yakko chuckles, and pats his sib’s head. At least Wakko didn’t have to deal with two drunk idiots.

“Next time I go out I’ll take you with me, that sound good?”

“Can we go robbing?”

“Maybe, depends on what we come across.”

“Stagecoach! Those are fun!”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Of course Wakko had asked Yakko what he ended up doing, Dot coming over too once she actually realized her brother was back. And, unsurprisingly, she just _had_ to ask if Yakko met the city boy again. He reluctantly said yes, saying that they just went on a trail ride, and raced back to town, emphasizing that nothing “funny” happened. Just two friends out on the trail. 

“Yeah sure, _friends_ ,” Dot would tease, nudging Wakko in the arm as she spoke. Wakko just snorted, holding back any laughter. Yakko just rolled his eyes, trying to get back on board with his story; even mentioning how they came across that spot in the river where they lost a wagon wheel. Of course his sibs asked if anything actually interesting happened though, to which Yakko shook his head. He did mention going to the general store though, Dot instantly interrupting asking if he got anything for them. Before saying anything else, Yakko pulled out the candy he’d purchased earlier, handing it to his sibs. But he’d split the chocolate bar he bought between the two of them. Yakko personally stayed away from chocolate, just as a personal preference. Totally not because this loser’s lactose intolerant or anything. Disregarding that however-

“Did you run into Arthur and Lenny at all while you were in town?” _Goddammit._ Yakko should’ve figured Dot would ask that, Wakko being too interested in snacking on the candy. But, he can just make up a little lie. Or just not tell the whole story.

“They were in the saloon, I didn’t wanna butt in on their fun.”

“Were they drunk?”

“Very much so.”

“Ew,” Dot scrunched her nose up at that, making a face. She hated drunks almost as much as her big brother did, mostly because the average drunk cowboy had the same amount of brain activity as a rotting tree stump. That, and drunk men are just… well it depends on who you’re hanging out with but they’re usually just all obnoxious annoying bastards. Or sad. Or angry. It really varied with every person.

“You think they’re gonna get back to camp?”

“Absolutely not.”

“They were _that_ bad?”

“I could hear Arthur shouting random nonsense at Lenny from outside, I don’t think either of them would be in any condition to get on a horse and ride back.” Which they weren’t! Yakko just hopes they were at least passed out now. Though, Dot is quiet for a moment more, wondering about the situation. And then she remembered why Arthur and Lenny went drinking anyways.

“You think they’re drunk enough to forget Micah’s in jail?”

“I hope so.”

“I hope he stays there and rots,” Wakko speaks up now, frowning. He hated Micah just as much as his sibs did, that man was hated by everyone, except Dutch it seemed. None of the Warners understood what he saw in him, besides a good shot maybe. But other than that, there was nothing likeable about Micah. But, out of the corner of his eye, Yakko would spot Dutch at his tent. He didn’t hear any of that, did he? He hoped not. Then again it’s not like Dutch would do anything about them shittalking Micah. They’re just kids. The most he’d do was scold them and tell them to be nice. 

“Yakko, when did you get bacK?” Dutch called from his tent, staring right at the Warners. Hm. Caught. Kinda.

“Just a few minutes ago?”

“Find anything interesting?”

“Uh-” Yakko glanced at his sibs, giving them the ‘I’ll be right back look’ before he headed over to Dutch. “Nothing today really but I did hear something the other day.”

“And?”

“Well I heard about some homestead in the mountains from some guy in the saloon, he said that maybe they were sitting on a bunch of cash.”

“Interesting,” Dutch nodded his head a little. At this point he was probably willing to accept any lead, but with their current situation why wouldn’t he? They needed money, so they could get “properly lost.” Sure it was a big country, but… How exactly were they just gonna get lost? No clue. Yakko didn’t want to dwell on that.

“Why don’t you and your siblings go out and investigate?”

“All three of us?”

“I don’t see why not. You kids can handle yourselves alright.”

Well, Wakko and Dot did probably need to just get out and do something right? Yakko worried about his sister for a moment, but Dot would probably get upset if he tried to tell her it was too dangerous. She was young but she was certainly capable of defending herself if need be. The Warners didn’t have claws and fangs for nothing. Besides, Dutch just said to investigate, that didn’t really entail much besides just looking stuff over.

“We’ll get on it later.”

“Atta boy.” Dutch pats Yakko on the shoulder, both of them smiling. Assuming that the conversation was over, Yakko did take his leave, heading back to his sibs, proposing the idea to them. Dutch of course watched, sighing as the younger Warners looked rather excited about getting out of camp at some point. Look, he loves those kids deeply, but the camp did need a small break from Wakko and Dot’s usual antics. Yakko they didn’t have to worry much about, given he was more mature, and went out a lot as is, but he definitely had his moments. Dutch just hoped with the Warners temporarily out that some people could get a little peace and quiet, if you could get any to begin with in camp. 

“You don’t think Dutch just wants us out of camp do you?”

“Probably,” Yakko didn’t miss a beat to Dot’s question, and his little sister was honestly taken aback by how quickly her brother responded, nonetheless that he insinuated Dutch wanted a break.

“How could he?! I’m a joy to be around.”

“No you’re not. All you talk about is boys and falling in love with your prince charming.”

“Wakko no I don’t! That’s what Mary-Beth does!”

“And you do it too.”

“Do not!”

Yakko just listened to his sibs go back and forth with their arguing, glancing to Dutch, who just retreated back into his tent once he heard Wakko and Dot start to argue. Honestly, he didn’t blame him. He did wonder though how they were going to make any plans to head out some time in the future with his sibs bickering like that. Ah well. They’re the Warners, they don’t need to plan _that_ much anyways. For now, he did listen back in on his sibs, Dot still complaining that she just didn’t talk about boys and silly romance novels, Wakko doing poor impressions of his sister talking about boys, the whole nine yards. Never a dull moment.

Later that night, Yakko would sit by the cliff looking out over the Dakota river, and the mountains and forests beyond it. The night sky was clear, almost every single star visible. He missed things like this, stargazing. No, just being under the open sky like this was what he missed. _I need to stop that. It’s not like we can go back there. Stop feeling so sorry for yourself._ _You’re overthinking everything again._ He scowls, bringing his knees up to his chest, his tail curling around his paws. He didn’t like this. He felt stupid for thinking so much on this, for not feeling at home anymore. Was that right? He wasn’t sure. That’s what it felt like. But he _was_ home. He was with his family, the people he cared about, and most importantly, his sibs. _So why do I feel like this?_ He wished he had an answer. He also wished this stupid feeling would go away.

“You’re out here rather late,” Hosea’s voice sounded from behind him, the older man taking his time walking over.

“Just lookin’ at the stars,” Yakko answered simply, he didn’t want to dump all of his weird thoughts onto Hosea, not at this hour. 

“That all?” 

“Pretty much,” Yakko rests his chin on his knees, still gazing up at the stars. He knew Hosea had a hunch that he wasn’t telling him everything, and he _knew_ he was going to pry. Well, not pry maybe, but just a question or two.

“You seem troubled.”

“Everybody’s been troubled.”

“Some more than others.”

“I guess.”

Hosea stood next to Yakko now, also looking out at the mountains and forests. He’s been in this part of the country before, if Yakko heard him right that one time. Although that time has long passed.

“You miss being out west, I take it?”

“Don’t you?”

“I do,” Hosea nods his head, sighing. “It’s… it’s a bad situation down there though. Can’t see us going back any time soon. We just gotta lay low for now.”

“Do you think we’ll ever go back?”

“One day, I’m sure of it. Long as we stick to the plan.”

“And that’s the plan to just… lie low and not cause trouble while simultaneously causing trouble, right?”

“It’s all we’ve got right now.”

Yakko didn’t really know how to take that, but Hosea would kneel slightly, patting him on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry too much, we’ll be out of this soon.” Yakko just nodded, smiling at Hosea, he’d take his word for it. Hosea would smile back of course, patting the boy’s shoulder again for an extra reassurance boost, before he’d head back over to his tent, leaving Yakko alone again.

He’d lament about his interpersonal struggles another day. After another few minutes of just staring off into the distance, Yakko would get up, and head back to his own tent, where Wakko and Dot were already sound asleep. All he could really do right now was believe Hosea, that they’d be getting out of this place and heading back West sometime soon. He hoped that would come soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is rlly long idk if i should apologize for that or not  
> i know it seems like everything gets longer the more we go but that's not the case not everything is gonna be this long I promise  
> but chapter length will vary


End file.
